ChuckKarp

I was sitting about twelve feet from my living room picture window when there was a tremendous crash.
I look up and see a huge Red Tail Hawk that had just hit the window.
He was was flapping his wings but the impact was too much. He went backward a little and then went to my
left, leaving a feather dust imprint on my window and a really wide imprint in the snow where he fell.
He was up in a second and flew off thru the trees in the yard and down the road.
(lots of trees, I couldn't believe where he went)
It was amazing to see but it happened so fast I doubt I could have gotten a picture if I had a camera in my hand.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Well your "startle reflex" has now been well tested plus you now know the window glass is a good grade. The cheap stuff would have shattered and you would have had glass splinters and the hawk in your living room with you.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Yeah, but at least he'd know where the hawk ended up.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

On the coffee table eating a cat????

RSPB Loc: New York

I experienced a similar episode, but it did not end as happily as yours. After hearing a tremendous crash my brother and I searched the house to find out what fell. We finally went outside to look around, and there under a porch window we spotted a beautiful hawk lying dead on the ground, with only a small spot of blood on his chest. I could not bear to dispose of this beautiful specimen so we called all around trying to find someone who would take it. Finally found a professor at the local community college with the proper credentials to take possession of this beautiful bird. He told us to put the hawk in a plastic bag and freeze it. When it was totally frozen we took it to him to place in his freezer, alongside an owl someone else had donated, both of which are to be stuffed and displayed when he got the necessary funds to process them.

abbahaim

You obviously don't watch any of the CSI shows. I am sure that you had the time to run into the house and take a picture of the bird's imprint on the window before it melted. Anyway, you should cherish the memory of what you saw, a rare event. As I was driving to an appointment, a long time ago, a hawk swooped down in front of me and in the same motion lifted up again with a field mouse in his talons. I stopped the car and dwelt upon the event for several minutes. To this day, now nearly thirty five years since that day, when I recall that event, I vividly and joyfully revisit that moment on a long driveway in Scottsdale, AZ.