The hawk sits on the sign warning us that beyond is a conservation area, and not our backyard. We know this, of course, as the sign is in our backyard, but the hawk has learned not to trust humans for we do not act logically and he wants no one messing with his nest just out of our sight in the wetland. Lest we be uncertain, he cries out if we approach but holds his perch. Hawks, like many birds around us, have a clear understanding of mine, one they wish we could grasp.