Cooper’s Hawk
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A Cooper’s Hawk caught a European Starling during our recent big snow. When I first saw it, the capture/kill had already happened, and the Cooper’s Hawk was standing over its prey on our patio table very near our feeders. It was easy to see that the prey was a starling.
The hawk carried its prey to the ground behind a clump of grass and almost directly below one of our feeders. It began to pluck the feathers. There was enough breeze that the feathers quickly blew away over the snow. As the hawk started the meal, the other birds began to return to the feeders – secure in the knowledge that the hawk was fully occupied.
The carcass was mostly behind the clump of grass but it was still disconcerting to watch the movements of the hawk with all the other little birds flitting around on the feeders and not that far away on the ground. Knowing that it is part of the ‘circle of life’ did not translate into wanting to watch it all the way through; my husband and I returned to our other afternoon activities within a few minutes.
