…by which I mean the neighborhood Cooper’s hawk, the scourge of backyard feeders for blocks around.

After showing up daily earlier in the spring, its visits slowed down. I think it had an easier time hunting when all the shrubs and trees were bare; as they leafed out, spotting potential prey grew more difficult, even for hawkeyes.

It stopped by a few days ago, perched on the deck railing for a bit and cawed once, then took off when it became obvious that lunch had already scattered. Then this morning, as I sat with my morning coffee, I looked out the back door to find this:

Where did everybody go??

It sat there for a minute or two, then hopped to the ground, and from there to the crabapple in the middle of the yard, all the while searching for something to eat. After another minute or so of that, it flew over to a nearby bur oak and continued to survey.

That was when I spotted this little bit hanging off the side of the finch feeder.

If I don’t move, you can’t see me

I didn’t see any red patch on the head, so pretty sure it was a female hairy or larger downy woodpecker. It hung motionless in mid-peck, positioned in such a way that it was hidden from the hawk. I didn’t see if it was there when the hawk arrived as I was concentrating on photographing the hawk without spooking it. I am guessing it was because if it had landed while the hawk was close to the house, it would’ve been spotted and possibly made breakfast. However it came to be there, it remained still for a time after the hawk flew away, then took off.

I’d seen this behavior the first time a few weeks ago. The Cooper had landed on the deck iirc, then moved to the crabapple. As it changed location, a woodpecker—again, either a hairy or large downy—alternated between hanging motionless and edging around the feeder to remain hidden as the danger moved around the yard.

Overall, a very birdy morning. Goldfinches and sparrows at the finch feeder. Catbirds and orioles—Baltimore and orchard—at the jelly. Cardinals and grosbeaks and everything else at the seed. The best time of year.