While outside late this afternoon, I suddenly heard loud avian distress 
cries from the other side of the house (near the feeders). I ran over to 
discover that the Cooper's Hawk I'd seen earlier in the day had suceeding in 
bringing down a Northern Flicker and was trying to subdue it. The whole 
scene was quite intense, but ultimately the hawk -- its wings and tail 
spread out to help hold down its prey -- won out.

Perhaps I could have scared away the Cooper's in time to give the woodpecker 
a chance, but it seemed wrong to interfere. It's far more common to see 
accipiters failing to catch anything; I figure this one deserved to enjoy 
its success.

Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)

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"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot