I had to go down to Greenbelt today, so I detoured briefly to College Park
to see Rick Borchelt's Rufous Hummingbird. I was afraid it was going to be a
no-show when a Cooper's Hawk landed in a tree at the edge of the yard and
sat there, making a Goldfinch freeze on its feeder, but after a few moments
the hummer zoomed into position a few feet in front of the hawk, hovering in
front of it as if to say "This yard ain't big enough for the both of us." I
wish I'd had a camera with me! The hummer then sat on a branch of its own,
still facing the hawk, and after a couple of minutes more flew down to the
feeder, presumably satisfied that she'd made her point. She certainly made
my day!

 

Thank you, Rick, for opening your lovely and very birdy backyard to
out-of-towners. 

 

Pat Valdata

Elkton, MD