The Unbothered Apex: A Tale of the Squirrel and the Hawk

The Unbothered Apex

A Red-shouldered Hawk perched elegantly among the bare branches in Havre de Grace, Maryland, December 2013. Captured by Inspired Visions Photography - Marcy Baez Lopez.

The hawk perched confidently on a branch, surveying its surroundings.

A squirrel also stood on the same branch, scurrying to and fro. Its initial slowness soon gave way to trembling urgency, bringing it ever closer. It darted so near its frantic movements almost brushed the hawk's magnificent golden-brown feathers. The proximity was startling, a testament to the squirrel's reckless nerve and the hawk's unyielding stillness. I'd first thought them friends, but it didn't take long to realize the squirrel was, in fact, taunting the hawk.

"Hey, you! Look at me, look at me! See, you can't catch me!" The squirrel's every frantic dart, every defiant pause, shrieked the challenge. Or was there something else in its frantic movements? Was this tiny creature, in its audacious display, trying to warn the powerful raptor that this tree, this very branch, was not a perch for the hawk, but the squirrel's own cherished haven?

One swift nip was all it needed—the squirrel would be wounded, its life extinguished. But no. The hawk remained utterly still, a study in quiet observation. Its attention was vast, extending beyond the foolish creature on its branch. It watched the sun break through the soft, white clouds, illuminating the expansive sky. It saw the rhythmic kiss of gentle waves upon the rocky shore. Down below, other squirrels scurried and played, a common, lively blur. Its vision encompassed the surrounding trees, vibrant with nests and the unseen lives of smaller birds. The hawk then brought its focus back to this one daring squirrel, how it nervously approached, then scrambled back just a few inches to what it believed was safety. Does it truly not understand its place? the hawk mused, a hint of something unreadable in its quiet gaze.

This squirrel is my prey, my common meal. The thought surfaced, then receded. The hawk felt no need to act. It was content, utterly satisfied. It preferred the unbroken quiet of this moment, to simply sit and watch the world unfold below, living its own life, in peace. All was one.

It preferred the unbroken quiet of this moment, to simply sit and watch the world unfold below, living its own life, in peace. All was one.