The other day, I was standing at my kitchen window, placidly viewing all the birds that were at my feeders in the side yard. It was a beautiful scene, with at least a dozen Cardinals, lots of White Crowned Sparrows, and Gold Finches. I was thinking how lucky I was to have so many birds in the yard, when this blur passed right in front of the window, swept down, and nailed one of the little cheeps in the yard. There was a poof of feathers, and then it was gone. It happened so fast, all I could do was gape in shock. The rest of the birds fled in a panic, leaving the bird feeders empty and still. I sputtered and stepped back, trying to comprehend what had just happened. My peaceful scene was instantly traded for one of murder and mayhem, and I was the only witness. It must have been a hawk that came down, but the bird I saw seemed too small to be one. I have lots of trees in the yard and it isn’t a good place for most hawks to hunt. So I consulted my bird book and found that there is indeed a hawk that preys on backyard birds. He’s known as the Sharp Shinned Hawk and is specifically designed to navigate in heavily wooded areas. Small and compact, he strikes with no warning. The little victim never knew what hit him. Ten minutes later, all the little cheep cheeps came back and business was again as usual at the feeders.

When my husband came home, I told him about the incident, and he told me that he had heard about the same thing happening to another woman who wrote about it on NPR Radio. It was featured on the program, All Things Considered, back on January 25, 2008. The title of the essay was, “A Restaurant for the Birds Welcomes All.” She says in the article; “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t serve meat here.”  “That’s all right,” he grunts. “I’ll get it myself.”

After reading the piece, I decided that the hawk had just as much right to share my yard and I reminded myself that it was all part of nature’s plan. Even with all its gruesomeness. 

Last year, a pair of larger hawks built a nest and raised their babies in a yard I pass each day when I walk.  One morning, there was a guy in the yard who shot a squirrel. Out of nowhere, one of the hawks swooped down and flew off with the squirrel, back to the nest. It seems that this guy was helping the hawks raise their young. They waited for him each day to appear. Now how about that collaboration! Oh yes, they’re back again this year.