As I was locking up my place and thinking about how
cold it was this morning, my wife said, "come over
here quickly." I knew immediately that it was a bird
and started scanning branches. I spotted the bird
almost immediately. There, right on a low Ash branch
across the street was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. The
bird was so close I didn't need binoculars, but after
30 seconds, I ran inside, and grabbed my binoculars to
go over the major ID features and confirm the bird. 

What an amazing way to start the day--better than a
good cup of java. For a bird watcher, all it takes is
one bird to transform a normal day into an
extraordinary one.

John Sherwood
Washington, DC