At first, I was puzzled by the odd almost incongruous sight of this tall bird, sitting motionless in the grass. For several minutes, she surveyed her grassy domain, occasionally seeming to preen, until suddenly up she swooped with an audible whoosh, powered by the tremendous aerodynamic force of her three foot wingspan.

She flew below a small ridge, where I lost of her, but kept my binoculars focused. Sure enough, moments later, she appeared with a long green snake in her sharp talons! Flying to a higher ridge, snake flailing, she disappeared again for several seconds. Before I could say, WOW, she suddenly darted skyward, this time sans snake. (Did she slurp it down like a wet spaghetti noodle?) Now, with a mouse clutched in her beak, she let it drop in mid-air, then caught it deftly and swallowed her little appetizer and flew out of sight.