Happy Spring,

I heard a Sapsucker call a short distance away as I walked the trails of Wallace Swamp Creek Park. a moment later I heard the call again together with what seemed like all the birds in the park were yelling "HAWK WARNING!!!" Just then a Cooper's Hawk landed on a branch not more than 15 feet away from me and right at eye level and . In its talons was a Red-bellied Sapsucker (still alive very much ). The sapsucker crying and pecking at the hawk's breast and wing, put up a pretty good fight. The two of them struggled on the branch for 2-3 minutes before the hawk flew down to the ground where he could keep its balance. There he stood; wings slightly spread, grasping the woodpecker until all life was gone. All the while a chorus of chickadees, robins, crows, and sparrows scolded wildly.

Yesterday I couldn't bring myself to watch a video of a starling attacking a nest of baby martins but today I watched intently as this drama was played out in front of me. Once the sapsucker was dead the hawk flew off into the woods to eat lunch without an audience. Then everything was absolutely silent, when I looked around there wasn't a bird to be seen.

Linda Phillips
linda_phillips1252 at msn.com<mailto:linda_phillips1252 at msn.com>
Kenmore 98028-2616

Wallace Swamp Creek Park is 1 mile North of Bothell Way on 73rd Ave NE in Kenmore