Cooper's Hawk

On Friday morning we were doing our last Cornell Feeder Watch count for the season, when all of the song birds in our backyard scattered and disappeared.  We didn't see any raptors...not immediately.  After a minute or two we looked down on the lawn and there was a Cooper's Hawk greedily plucking and eating a hapless Dark-eyed Junco.

The Cooper's Hawk clearly thought the term "bird feeder" applied to him.

These small hawks will seize the opportunity to catch prey at bird feeders. In addition to songbirds they do catch rodents. Not a too pleasant prospect at the bird feeders, but a raptor has got to eat too.