By Jim Nichols

Several months ago, I recounted here an unusual experience that occurred in my backyard. It was somewhat of a wildlife fantasy and involved the simultaneous presence of two visitors, a squirrel and a hawk.

It featured a device referred to by the seller as a “wildlife language translator.” The instructions were not too clear as to whether the device was listening to actual language or was, instead, somehow reading the thoughts of the animal rather than actual audible language. Regardless, it allowed me to eavesdrop into any “communication” between the hawk and squirrel. 

It is possible that I might have simply dosed off and dreamed the whole thing.

This particular squirrel (as well as others who frequent the yard) appears often and seems to be quite at home there. The hawk, on the other hand, is more sporadic on visits. I have been surprised at how cordial their relationship is. Perhaps “cordial” is too strong—the hawk seems to tolerate the squirrel and simply deal with the inquisitiveness of an animal that eats acorns and sunflower seeds.

Both were in the backyard together again the other day and my “wildlife language translator” picked up this conversation (although as before, the squirrel did most of the talking.)

“What’s up?” queried the squirrel.
There was no response.
“Good afternoon,” the squirrel tried again and was again ignored.

Undaunted by the silence, the squirrel continued to chatter. “You’ve been gone for a while, hawk. What do hawks do during their down time? Do they take holidays?”

The hawk refused eye contact with the squirrel; this is not difficult since the hawk sits staring straight ahead while the squirrel runs and hops around as its stream of consciousness speech continues.

“The humans here bought a fancy bird feeder that reveals the food to the birds alone—only when a small bird lights will there be food available through the holes. A larger bird (or a squirrel) triggers a spring that closes the holes. It seems quite unhospitable to me. I am too big to feed directly from their bird feeder, but I have learned that I can sit momentarily on the feeder just enough for some seeds to fall to the ground where I can then jump down and out-compete the birds for the fallen seeds. Humans refer to this as sequential reasoning and I am quite proud of that trick. I am teaching my squirrel children and squirrel friends.”

The squirrel thinks and talks with rapid fire.

“Do hawks have hawk friends? I never see more than one hawk at a time, that is, hawks together. Hawks are not friendly like squirrels. Squirrels are often with other squirrels, and it would appear to humans that we are communicating with one another. We run and jump together, up and down trees in tandem. Humans attribute this to some sexual reason, but that just shows how warped their human minds are—always thinking about sex and simply attributing the joys of life such as running up and down trees to sex. Human slanted minds, I would say.”

The ice melted briefly when the hawk said, “Did you know there is a fox who lives in the neighborhood? I have seen it several times in various backyards, including this one. You’d probably want to be aware of your surroundings. Foxes are wise, at least in the old tales I have read. Plus, they are great jumpers.”

With that, the hawk spread its wings and disappeared silently into the sky.

If you do not believe that animals can talk, including to each other, you need to ask a child. Sitting there holding their cat with stuffed animals lined up beside them, they will look at you with incredulity. Of course they can talk; everybody knows that.

St. Francis of Assisi in Canticle of the Sun (1224) wrote at length of Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and how all nature is a family created by God. Humans are part of an interwoven community who praise God simply by existing. This includes the physical world as well as all life forms. It all needs to be respected by us and treated with care rather than as something to conquer or use.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain