This morning as I watched the feeders from my kitchen window, the local
quail, including a large number of young, wandered in to scratch underneath.
They seem to like to work the area, in part, because there's a low wooden
deck under which they can escape at a hint of danger. I hadn't been paying
a whole lot of attention when I noticed a rather large bird perched on the
side of the bird bath. A double take confirmed that it was an adult
Cooper's hawk. I then noticed that the usually lively feeders were very
quiet and particularly, there was not a quail in sight.

The hawk was very intent on breakfast (and obviously pretty familiar with
the place, which explains the pile of young quail feathers in my garden).
It spent at least half an hour hopping from low perches to the ground
adjacent the deck. There it would crouch down and cock its head. I
pictured the 20+ cowering quail underneath. They held their ground and the
hawk eventually decided to look elsewhere. It took about another hour
before, one by one, cautious quail began to exit from under the deck.

I was amused as I'm much more used to a blurred, fast-moving streak coming
out of nowhere and feathers flying as the Cooper's MO than stalking at
ground level.

Good birding if you can find any in this heat, Kim