I was sitting in the garden with an iced tea when a large worm crawled out
of the rockery and took off above ground over the flagstone. I was just
thinking, Bad choice dude, there are a lot of Robins...when a Robin landed
about 3 feet away from where I sat. The Robin looked at me, looked at the
big fat earthworm, then looked at me. It obviously figured a guy lounging
with an ice tea was not a big threat, and it hopped over and pounced on the
worm, then carried it a respectful 6 feet away before pecking it into three
pieces. It gathered up the pieces, still wriggling, and flew out under the
plum tree and into the open space. There was a blur of motion and it
resolved into a Coopers Hawk who came from above and in front of the Robin,
which had no chance. The hawk hit the robin and drove it to the grass. I
let out an involuntary exclamation and the Hawk looked at the Robin, looked
at me, and like the Robin figured a seated guy with an iced tea spilled on
his pants was not something to worry about. It began plucking the robin on
the grass, but shortly hauled it away into the trees, flying over my head. A
feather wafted down and landed almost exactly where the earthworm had come
out of the rockery. Wow...Made me realize life can be short if you don't pay
attention.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County