nice vantage point

I wish I could claim this photo, but I'll definitely try to imitate it some day.

I had a casualty at work today. A chickadee was happily picking at my feeder when suddenly, a sharp shinned hawk flew in and grabbed it right out of the air. The chickadee had a split second to avoid being nabbed, but was fielded easily by the larger bird.

I was on the phone with a teacher from my son's school at the moment. I think she noticed that she lost my attention for a second while I asked the person in the next cube over if she had seen what I had.

The hawk was small as birds of prey go, but compared to its kill, it was in a completely different class. I was very impressed by the finesse it used on the more maneuverable little bird. I have seen chickadees flit around effortlessly from limb to limb hanging upside-down at times - their jerky motions always seemed like they would make difficult targets. This is apparently not the case.

The hawk picked up the bird and landed about 10 feet away in a grassy area. It stood long enough to get a better grip, then it flew off with the tiny bird in its claws. I was impressed, stunned, and saddened all at the same time.

What factors made the attack successful? The bird didn't seem to realize it was being stalked; There were no other birds around (the others must have been wise to the hawk's presence); finally, the execution of the attack was perfectly timed for a moment when the chickadee was not just unaware, but preoccupied.

A beautiful lesson is there somewhere.