I live in a fourth floor apartment that has a balcony. Just beyond the balcony are the top branches of a tree. Through the floor to ceiling windows, I often see birds of all sorts; squirrels and the occasional opossum. The other night, I looked out and saw this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tailed_hawk
He was gorgeous. His head was turning and turning as he scoped out his situation. Then he looked directly at me sitting on the couch in my living room. I could see the predator thinking "If I were just a bit bigger and you were just a bit smaller, I'd have you for my dinner."
I've never been that close to a wild animal that wasn't in a zoo. He was staring at me from about six - eight feet away and we were on the same eye level, given that I was sitting. I've heard that birds are the direct descendants of dinosaurs and I believe it. It was like being stared down by a mini, feathered T. Rex.
