Predator and prey

This is too good to wait, so I'm sharing it right now. I was sitting at the dining room table watching the snow fall this morning, and noticed a cardinal looking as if she had frozen solid at a feeder right outside the glass. At first I thought she was sheltering from the wind, but looking around I realized the air was calm and the snow was falling straight down or nearly so. She remained absolutely still, moving only her head and doing that very slowly and slightly. Then I spotted the hawk. No other birds were moving within view, which is unusual for the time and conditions. I believe this is a sharp-shinned hawk, though we also have Cooper's hawks that look very similar but are larger and heavier. The hawk was also frozen and staring right at the feeder from about 40 feet away (see upper left corner of photo.) This tableau remained for nearly 15 minutes, while I pointed it out to Gary and then got my camera and made several quick shots. Resolution isn't the best, but I still think this is very dramatic. Eventually the hawk gave up and flew, with the cardinal leaving almost immediately afterward.



Close-up of the hawk is here.

Saturday, 4 Dec 2010 07:45. About 3 in. of snow on the ground, still falling, temperature 25F.