Omg! Hawk encounter!!

So I don't know if any of you saw my last post and a picture of my Romeo perched outside on one of "his branches" and my mention of keeping a close eye out for birds. Well I usually try and get him outside in the a.m. and then every afternoon if possible for some sun. So I got home and put him in his hibiscus tree which has all a variety of branches for him to climb and bask. I am sitting there watching him bask in his glory and admiring him. Now, I am not a chameleon so my eyes cannot see 360 degrees but I can see everywhere but behind me. So, I am sitting there kinda crouched down in my chair, which luckily sits up high because they are like swivel bar stools and I look up and I see Romeo instantly turn dark and skinny. With that, out of the right corner of my eye I see something about eye level and it is the huge talons of a hawk getting ready to scoop Romeo up! It happened so fast and that bird came outta nowhere. Real quiet too, and just swooped right in. Well, I just freaked as you can imagine and as it passed my head I actually swatted its talons and hit the bird and threw it off balance. It swerved to the right and just flew up over the fence. Well, I was just floored that this Hawk had the audacity to even attempt this while I was sitting there. I have seen Hawks in the trees with snakes so I have always been quite aware that my chameleon could be a prey of interest. So that's my story, Romeo is fine,and I am fine now that it took me awhile to get my heart beating back to normal and this story has a happy ending thank god!!!! I am still shaking!!!

Nice reaction time!
Probably saved your Cham there.

Birds of Prey are awesome animals just need to keep them away from our Chams

OMG.....yeah I heard another thread with a crow and a veiled a while back...Ekkk I will never do this! I cant deal with anymor einjured chams! ahh..BUT glad to hear he's okay! And Nice Reflexes!!!!

I would love to just take some of my guys out and put them on a branch but you just described one of my nightmares. Mine are never outside unless in a screen cage. I just can't do it, I don't think my reflexes would be that fast or I would be looking away for a second, who knows.
I am thankful you saved your cham. If that happened and I lost my chameleon I could never forgive myself.

Laurie, I know what you mean and I have told my daughter about all the hawks around here and she always thinks I am so paranoid and worry about everything. Now, I gotta ride my husband to get working on the outdoor cage! When I lived in Chicago I put one of my turtles in our birdbath and turned my back and there was a Crow flying off with it. I have never forgotten that! I am so glad that my Romeo is safe and sound!!!

Yeah, I used to have outdoor cages 'bout 12 years ago and one day I pulled up getting home from work and a Red-tailed hawk was sitting on a post right at the cage. It baffled me because when a chameleon wants to, it came be like 2 inches in front of my face and I wouldn't see it. How this hawk spotted a chameleon in a cage full of foliage from the air amazes me.

Wow great save! I'm so glad to hear nothing bad has happened to Romeo!

I am glad you saved Romeo!!! I had a similar scary encounter, and I am glad Romeo is safe.

Carol, You did good! I am so glad that Romeo is safe.

Glad Romeo is safe and you are also unharmed. Some big birds can be dangerous.

Holy crap!!! Way to go!!! I'm glad everyone is safe and home for the night!!

WOW!!! Carol!!!

Awsome Hawk reflecting power!!!!

Glad everyone is ok...And i bet your cham was "shitting bricks"
pardon me for being frank

Whew!! what a close call! Good job on those reflexes Carol! You have quite a lot of predators down there to watch out for, so a screen cage definitely sounds like a requirement there. It's also interesting that the first sign of a problem was Romeo turning dark. This shows that they really do have excellent vision for spotting predators.

I'm glad your story had a happy ending!

radstusky said:

Whew!! what a close call! Good job on those reflexes Carol! You have quite a lot of predators down there to watch out for, so a screen cage definitely sounds like a requirement there. It's also interesting that the first sign of a problem was Romeo turning dark. This shows that they really do have excellent vision for spotting predators.

I'm glad your story had a happy ending!

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Leo came close to losing his bro today!!! OMG! I still can see that thing zooming in. I have relived it about 10 times since it happened! I saw a hawk chasing some birds in my big tree out front about a week ago. I don't know if it was the same one. Hopefully I scared him off! Yes, Romeo must have seen him coming cause he got so skinny and dark and I was like what the crap? and swoosh, here comes the bird! I love all animals but I'd of killed that hawk if I had to!!

Thanks everyone! I am so happy to have my little one sleeping safe and sound tonight. I guess it proves you can never be too careful!

Holy Heck!

See I miss one day of the Forums and miss all the action! Not that that was good! I can't believe it... poor Romeo! Poor you! Well atleast you noticed and were very observant and you saved the day thanx to your "ninja like reflexes"!!!

I too am surprised that he swooped down while you were sitting there and close enough for you to swat him.... I bet you had to take a few moments to settle down after that! Well, as they say all's well that ends well! Thank goodness Romeo is fine.

How was he the rest of the day ok or did he seem shaken up?

Gensen said:

See I miss one day of the Forums and miss all the action! Not that that was good! I can't believe it... poor Romeo! Poor you! Well atleast you noticed and were very observant and you saved the day thanx to your "ninja like reflexes"!!!

I too am surprised that he swooped down while you were sitting there and close enough for you to swat him.... I bet you had to take a few moments to settle down after that! Well, as they say all's well that ends well! Thank goodness Romeo is fine.

How was he the rest of the day ok or did he seem shaken up?

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He was fine, I was the one who needed a tranquilizer!!! Thank god he "warned" me by changing his look so quick, otherwise I think the hawk would have just cruised right in and swooped him up.

carol5208 said:

... I put one of my turtles in our birdbath and turned my back and there was a Crow flying off with it. I have never forgotten that!

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I remember reading somewhere that one of the main predators of Mojave Desert Tortoises is ravens... who'd have thunk corvids would learn how to eat turtles? smart birds...

keep defending mama good job!!

The dang birds are getting more and more brave! My boyfriends Jackson has a good eye for predators and turns dark when ever he sees a hawk/crow. Saved his life a few times I bet.