In the early afternoon today the rain briefly parted and a flicker perched
in a hemlock and gave the Cleeerr, call several times. Then, just as I
looked up at it, it dropped down from the top of the tree in an odd sort of
dive and went into a salmonberry thicket. A second larger bird suddenly
appeared from the east and took its place atop the Hemlock and it was a
Coopers Hawk.. The hawk tilted its head downward, I assume it was looking at
where the flicker had gone. The coop stayed perched for a good 10 minutes,
and as far as I could tell, the flicker did not venture forth from its
thicket hideout. The hawk flew to the south, circled around a house, then
came back fast and low to the ground, passing by very close to the thicket
(and me as well). The hawk then flew back up to its perch for just a
moment, then headed off south not to return. I walked up to the
salmonberry thicket to look for the flicker and it took me several minutes
to see it, its colors blending in surprisingly well. It was perched on the
ground, motionless with its head sort of low to the ground. The rain came
back and since I had no coat I headed back into the house. I wonder how
long the Flicker stayed put and then I wondered if the hawk was still
around, watching..

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer
Snohomish County, WA