Got a Little Side-tracked Today

Today I was busy getting ready to paint some cardinal make do's when I needed my special pencil I use to draw patterns with, which was in the living room. Just as I picked up the pencil I looked out our big picture window and thought I saw it snowing!! It was like big flakes. I continued to watch then noticed it was not snow but feathers!! In one of the big branches of our maple tree was a bird I had never seen before!! And it was eating a red-bellied woodpecker!! I was sad for a few minutes because I love these birds.

Click on the picture to see a close up

So instead of painting my cardinals I rushed upstairs to my computer and hooked up my camera to look at the pictures. And I needed to figure out what kind of bird this was. I knew it was some kind of hawk, but not sure what kind. It was totally different from the red-tailed hawk I took a picture of a couple of years ago. This bird had red eyes and a dark colored back!! It turns out it's a Cooper's Hawk. The last couple of days I have been seeing a couple of hawks circling around in the sky above our trees and I guess that is what they were. I still think about that poor woodpecker, but I guess the hawk has to eat too.

So here is my cardinal that I eventually finished today. He is now listed in my etsy shop for all to see.

Love this close up pic of his face! LOL