About 2:10 today, I was counting a pig pile of bushtits at the suet
feeder, about 30 birds. The tits went on across the alley to 7621 W
Green Lake Dr. N and to the feeders there, then down into the bushes.
The bushes around the back year patio and feeders contained both
bushtits and juncos. A Coopers Hawk, female, turquoise band on right
leg and silver on left leg, landed on our back arbor, looked around and
crossed the alley. It took me several minutes to find the bird again,
perched in a large shrub busily bill wiping. The bird turned around,
dropped into the back yard patio area and within a minute returned with
either a bushtit or a junco to the same perch. It took about two
minutes to dispatch the prey. The Coopers Hawk, turned around, inspect
the patio area and dropped in again, returning to the perch within a
minute with another small bird, ate it in about two minutes, turned
around and repeated the performance a third time. After finishing-off
the third meal the bird just preened and perched for half an hour. This
may be the same bird that took a pigeon in the alley about 5 weeks ago,
and then a pigeon over Winona about three weeks ago. How can we
encourage it to take house sparrow?

Richard Fleming
at Green Lake, Seattle
206-525-1974