The Cycle of Life in Suburbia
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (122533)
Gainesville, Florida
February 1, 2025 3:29pm CST
At the back of my house I have a big screen-in porch with outdoor furniture, and I like to sit out there in the cool of the morning or late evening and enjoy coffee while taking in the beautiful views of the meadow and woods behind my house. We also have a half-dozen squirrels who live in the oak trees in the backyard, and they're always scurrying around on the ground looking for acorns and other foods.
Every now and then something on the ground (most likely culprits are cats) will scare or startle the squirrels, and the nearest/closest place of refuge is running up my screen. This is what happened this morning as I was sitting out enjoying a cup of coffee, and I sat there watching the squirrel for several minutes as he hung out on the screen waiting for danger to pass.
But then the craziest thing happened. Out of the blue, and right in front of me, a hawk came zooming in from a high dive and grabbed the squirrel in its talons and flew off! Yanked the squirrel right off my screen. It took my brain several seconds to process what had just happened. And then the irony made me chuckle. The squirrel, trying to escape danger, actually placed itself more in danger, and it probably cost him his life.
Aww...such is the cycle of life in suburbia.
Have you ever witnessed natural shenanigans of wildlife in your yards/homes?
20 people like this
16 responses
@wolfgirl569 (110925)
• Marion, Ohio
1 Feb
I see stuff all the time. Some of it is sad. Poor squirrel
4 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (110925)
• Marion, Ohio
1 Feb
@moffittjc That was very close. I like watching fox kits hunting mice in the fields. Don't see them often.
4 people like this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
@wolfgirl569 I would definitely enjoy seeing foxes (and especially fox kits) hunting for food. That would be so cool. We don't seem to have a lot of foxes around here; or at least none that I've seen. I did see a coyote one time crossing the road right near the entrance to my neighborhood.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
I figured you would weigh in with exactly that comment. I'm sure you've seen it all around your property. I have, too, for the most part, but never right in front of me and less than 2 feet away. lol
3 people like this
@much2say (56970)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Feb
Oh no! Poor squirrel! I know the 3 squirrels that live in our tree - that would kill me to see that! I did see a hawk grab a pigeon in mid flight - the hawk pinned him down in our yard like 50 ft in front of where I was sitting. It was surreal . . . we see hawks but not in action like that. Ultimately the pigeon escaped . . . the hawk went after it again but who knows what happened thereafter.4 people like this
@much2say (56970)
• Los Angeles, California
3 Feb
@moffittjc Just like the pigeon, I would hope that squirrel somehow got away . . . but at the same time that hawks gotta eat 
. I guess hawk's have pretty big claws . . . a neighbor told us it got to their cat 
.
. I guess hawk's have pretty big claws . . . a neighbor told us it got to their cat .@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
After the hawk grabbed the squirrel, it flew off over the trees where I couldn't see it anymore. I was wondering if it was able to hold on to the squirrel, or if the squirrel was too heavy and ended up being dropped by the hawk.
I have seen hawk's in our area grabbing snakes and mice before (much smaller critters), but I have never seen them grab a squirrel, which to me would seem too heavy for the hawk to carry.
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (40311)
•
3 Feb
I used to live on a lake at the edge of a town, a fairly large lake. We saw hawks often, usually grabbing water snakes. No one objected to them taking away the snakes!
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
I know that ALL animals have to eat, and in the wild you can't just stop at McDonalds for food, so unfortunately bigger critters will always eat the smaller critters. Even though I know it happens, it's more disheartening when you see it happen right in front of you. Poor squirrel. And it probably had a family waiting for it back in the nest.
2 people like this
@shaggin (73687)
• United States
1 Feb
@moffittjc aww your last sentence made it even sadder but very true 
3 people like this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
@shaggin I know, that's what sucks about the whole thing. I think we're still too early in the winter for there to be squirrel babies in the nest, so maybe it's not as sad as we think it is.
3 people like this
@RasmaSandra (82219)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
1 Feb
How I love and miss oak trees, Just got a bunch of palm trees around me,There are two crazy squirrels that I see from my window that run back and forth along the big cable outside all day long it seems, I used to have a squirrel that came to visit but he has not returned,
4 people like this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
It's weird, because I used to love squirrels, but now I'm not too fond of them. To me, they are just rats with fluffy tails. And I don't like rats.
3 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (106147)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
1 Feb
I have seen squirrels and birds flying in the trees in the front yard in front of an empty house but nothing out of the ordinary.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Feb
I have at least one--if not more--rat snakes living in my yard, and I have always wanted to see one catch a mouse, frog or lizard. I haven't seen that happen yet, but they must be doing a good job of catching them, because I don't ever see anything else around other than the snakes. Every now and then I'll see a hawk grab a snake out in the meadow behind my house.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Feb
Is the cat successful in catching moles?
I saw a mole in my yard for the first time this past fall. I figured either the rat snakes, hawks or neighborhood cats would make a meal out of it in no time. I haven't seen it in several months, but that could be because it is winter time.
@GardenGerty (161927)
• United States
2 Feb
I have an open field north of me, in front of my house. I have seen many things, including hawks looking for small rodents and snakes. Snakes looking for rodents. Deer passing through, etc.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Feb
We have a lot of deer and turkey in my area. I see them all the time, either while driving around, or sitting on my back porch.
It's interesting to see how wild animals are adapting to urban sprawl as their native ecosystems and habit are slowly being destroyed. It is very common to see deer in people's yards around here. They still have a healthy fear of humans, but at the same time they are adapting to ensure they survive and continue to eat, even if that means moving into human habitats.
@id_peace (14487)
• Singapore
2 Feb
Ouch. I stay in a concrete jungle so there are not much wildlife but I saw a spider trapping a small cockroach before wrapping it with web. I also see ants fighting cockroach, i think they must have throw some acid or what to paralysis the cockroach before they dismembered and carried the cockroach presumely back to their nest.
1 person likes this
@id_peace (14487)
• Singapore
4 Feb
@moffittjc Same too I hate roach with a passion. Wished that there are some animals that I can own to kill and eat them.
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Feb
One of the things I love most about spiders is that they eat roaches. I hate roaches more than any other insect.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Feb
There's probably a lot of the circle of life that goes on even around your apartment that you never see. But then again, sometimes it's best if we not no or see what goes on out in the natural world.
@JESSY3236 (20203)
• United States
4 Feb
No, but my mother said she and another woman had witnessed a hawk pick up a cute bunny. It traumatized the woman.
@JudyEv (345280)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Feb
I saw a crow pick up a baby chicken once. I chased it down the paddock but of course there was no way it was going to drop it. I also heard of an eagle grabbing a chihuahua at a roadside rest stop and taking off with it. Wouldn't that have traumatised the poor owner?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (345280)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Feb
@moffittjc Animals are cruel at times. Survival of the fittest and all that. 
@andriaperry (118043)
• Anniston, Alabama
2 Feb
Yeah driving, a hawk dove down and grabbed a rabbit.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Feb
I saw a coyote trotting off once with a chicken in its jaws. We have a lot of people in our community who raise chickens, and they are completely oblivious to the fact that there are coyotes and foxes all around the area. It's only a matter of time before those predators find those chickens...
@porwest (95461)
• United States
2 Feb
It is rare I see the ecosystem in full view like that. I'd have felt horrible for that poor squirrel, of course. Yet, at the same time I know the hawk has to eat too. It makes me view my own life's struggles and appreciate them more. I mean, life can be tough and full of challenges. But at least I can walk to my car without something coming out of the sky and taking me off for an unexpected lunch date from which I won't be returning except, perhaps, on someone's freshly washed car in a completely altered state.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122533)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Feb
I know the hawk has to eat too, but I would prefer it eat mice and snakes and rats, and not squirrels. Although I do view squirrels as nothing more than rats with bushy tails.
We must consider ourselves lucky that we are currently at the top of the food chain. Could you imagine if we still lived in the time of the dinosaurs? We may walk out of our cave to stretch and get a breath of fresh air and next thing we know a T-Rex is eating us for a snack.
1 person likes this
@porwest (95461)
• United States
5 Feb
@moffittjc It would have been a different time for sure. COULD we have shared the planet with such large creatures and have existed the way we do now? I don't think so.
@LeaPea2417 (37473)
• Toccoa, Georgia
2 Feb
I occasionally have heard cat fights through the years out in the yard.
