There’s a hungry Cooper’s Hawk visiting my backyard every afternoon. He’s figured out that if he swoops in at a certain angle he can drive the goldfinches and Pine Siskins into my bay window. Thankfully because my feeders are so close to it, the birds rarely hit the window hard—-there’s not enough space to get good acceleration.
The other day Swoopy McSwooperson flew in and scared a whole flock of finches and siskins. One bird did clunk into the window and then went straight down. I thought he was a goner. But the hawk sat on my feeder and didn’t go in for the kill.
I hadn’t quite got out of my chair to check if there was a bird on the ground when the hawk practically flew into my window himself. He was on a mission and he too dropped straight down and disappeared. I ran to the window in time to see him trying to grab a small squirrel in his talons.
I shrieked and waved wildly in the window and the hawk let go. That poor squirrel was paralyzed with fear and just sat there shaking. While I wouldn’t have wanted to see meal take place, I could use fewer squirrels around here, and I’m pretty sure this is the one that keeps trying to chew up all my hanging feeders to get to the sunflower seeds. I yelled out to him, “I just saved your life! Please remember that!”
I’m sure he’ll forgot the next time he’s hankering for a sunflower snack.