Sharp shinned hawk with kill

Sharp shinned hawk with kill, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

You know how cats get the blame for killing birds? I saw the black cat wander through my yard yesterday and walk right by the birds.

On the other hand, this hawk landed on top of my bird feeder. It usually flies off the minute I move, but this time it didn't notice me. It swooped, and in maybe thirty seconds, it had something in its talons. When I zoomed in with my camera, it was a bird and it was already dead from what I could see.

I mentioned this to my neighbour. She said that she always feels conflicted. I love the hawks - they're beautiful creatures. Also on one hand, it is nature. On the other hand, you do feel bad for the bird that died.

She also mentioned something interesting. Her cats, who are kept strictly indoors, were sitting on their screened in porch when the hawk swooped down. The hawk landed and stared at them - and the cats were terrified. Her cats like watching the birds, but they knew that this hawk was a predator, which could easily carry them off, and they froze till the hawk was gone.