As I mentioned in my last post, I saw a Cooper's Hawk yesterday morning at Fish Park. I don't see a lot of hawks so it was pretty amazing that we also had one in our backyard this morning. Nancy saw it when she was out filling the birds feeders and told me when she came back in. I was looking out the window a short time later and noticed that there were no birds poking around the feeders or under the bushes. I wondered aloud if the hawk wasn't still in the area and if that was keeping the birds down. A minute later I noticed the Cooper's Hawk sitting on our fence. I watched for a bit and then he plopped down into some shrubs and out of sight. I went out on the deck to see if I could spot him but wasn't able to. Just as I turned, he popped up and flew low over our back fence.
Now, many people hate to see the hawks around their feeders. I think they start to feel some sort of "ownership" of, or responsibility for, their feeder birds and view the hawks as thugs there to prey on pets. I can truly understand those feelings but think they are misplaced. Sure, putting out feeders and attracting songbirds creates an artificial environment. Because it is artificial, I believe many people feel that they should be able to protect their backyard birds from their natural predators. I prefer to look at it a little differently. Songbirds are going to mass around any food source, whether it is man-made or natural. That massing of birds is going to catch a hawk's attention and the hawks are going to do what they do best which is hunt. I find that process of hunting just as interesting as watching a Brown Creeper working up a tree looking for insects. I try not to project my sensibilities on the birds and view the acts of the Cooper's and the Brown Creeper as just two ways the earth is maintaining it's balance.
