Not The Most Pleasant

  Not every hike about the hillside is pleasant.  Sometimes, a find along the way can be saddening.  This morning, a pile of feathers meant that another songbird met its untimely death in the clutches of the Cooper's Hawk.  These hawks are amazingly agile hunters and can swoop in and out of tree branches without ever making contact with any.  This gives the hawk and almost unfair advantage over other birds.  A Cooper's Hawk rarely ever misses its target.  Besides using the speed and agility, the bird also relies upon stealth in its quest for a meal.   Just last year, I watched as a young hawk fly into the hickory tree just above the feeders.  Before dawn, it would take its station in the tree to await the songbirds that would come for breakfast.  Then, at daybreak, it would choose its prey and swoop down for an easy meal.

  I used to enjoy watching the birds come to the feeders but since the hawks have moved into the area, that is not an option.  It is not up to me to fatten the doves for a hawk's meal.  Now, the feeders sit empty and my songbirds have moved to other areas.  Perhaps, if the food source is removed, the hawks will find another breeding ground, as well.   My yard is not their diner!

  Finding the feathers this morning made me sad for the songbird but, in a weird (almost morbid) way, glad for the hawk.  If the hawk is able to catch prey, then it is healthy. I do enjoy watching the hawks but wish they would eat the voles that plague the garden instead of the songbirds that visit the feeders.