WASHINGTON (CNN) — The White House grounds are home to quite a bit of small wildlife — squirrels, small bird, foxes and the occasional mouse, running around, and now, a red-tailed hawk has joined the small patch of yard, spotted most recently at the northwest ledge of the President’s East Wing residence.
CNN’s White House team first spotted the hawk about a month ago, when a group of crows seemed to be bullying the bigger bird —ramming into him at full speed. At that time, observers speculated that the hawk had found the crows’ nest and was threatening their eggs.
Whether or not that was the case, the hawk seems to have found a tastier and more easily accessible snack — squirrels. CNN’s Senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, witnessed the hawk casually picking away at an unlucky squirrel for lunch on the lawn and a New York Times’ reporter cites an incident of the hawk swooping down and chowing down on a squirrel in the President’s driveway last week.
Red-tailed hawks are fairly common in the United States.
The White House acknowledged the hawk on their blog, and used its presence as an opportunity to address climate change — citing rising temperatures and extreme weather as human impositions that have made it harder for birds, like the red-tailed hawk, to survive.
