Today was the 114th annual Christmas Bird Count. St. Paul Audubon Society has been actively participating for decades and this was my 4th or 5th year. After a cold morning exploring our ‘circle’ of parks and open spaces in St. Paul, I decided to add in a bird count from our backyard feeders. Scanning the feeders, I didn’t find any of the usual suspects. It is rare that we don’t have any birds in the backyard.
In closer inspection, I found this Cooper’s Hawk finishing off a dove. This explains why all of the other birds left the area.