Predator

Saturday afternoon, I opened the back door and saw this immature Copper's hawk eating its lunch in our tree.


I couldn't make out what the hawk was eating. I hope it was a mouse or lizard and not a songbird.  I dreamed it ate a titmouse, but thank goodness, that was just a dream. There wasn't any evidence that the hawk caught its prey in our yard. Instead, I think it was attracted by the sparseness of our dying tree – the perfect place to alight for a meal.

(As an aside, our tree has been dying since before we moved in. It has been a long goodbye. Yet with all of the fascinating birds that have used this tree precisely because of its declining health, – woodpeckers, great horned owls and now the hawk – it's been a asset, even in its waning state.)


When the hawk saw me looking at it, it hoped to a higher branch but stayed in the tree and watched me for a while.


I was interested to see that while the hawk and I looked at each other, three starling sat in the same tree about 12 feet above the hawk. Ballsy if you ask me!


Even more courageous was the blue jay who broke the silence of the other birds and screamed at the hawk to move on its way. I was surprised the hawk responded. All hail the hero blue jay.