Hawk Still
When one has a bird feeder, one has small birds. And when one has small birds, one may have large birds like a hawk.
I have an occasional hawk that visits the backyard. When the hawk--either a Sharp shinned or Coopers I'm not sure which--shows up the other birds flee. Except when they don't.
This morning, I saw the hawk perched on the branches and a downy woodpecker, stock still, hiding from the hawk by clinging motionless to a bird food brick. The bird food brick was big enough to be a vision barrier between hawk and downy woodpecker (or DOWO using the American Ornithologic Union abbreviation) but would not have offered much protection had the hawk managed to spy the downy. The DOWO must have missed or ignored what is apparently the universal signal that a hawk was nearby.
I do not like to interfere in the affairs of animals, though you can make the case that in feeding the birds I've already meddled. Fair point. Also, full disclosure: in that moment I was Team Downy. (My allegiances shift depending on the players) I did not want the hawk to get the downy but shooing the hawk away might flush the DOWO with me facilitating the one outcome I did not want. The best course of action was to do nothing which in this case was to do something.
So instead of taking action to turn events one way or the other, I carefully slid open a window so I could take photos. The hawk flew away despite my intention to not meddle but the downy did not. The poor little bird stayed clinging to the bird food brick till the other feeder birds came back to give the all clear.
I don't know if I will ever see that little guy in my yard again.
These pictures below of the hawk were taken a few days ago and the Downy photo was taken this past summer as the leafy background indicates.
Despite not being photos of the Actual Hawk and Downy, they give you an idea of the cast of characters in this little story, Hawk, Downy, and Bird food Brick.
