Cutler hawk commotion

Common Yellowthroat (Cutler), originally uploaded by oehlkers.

My walk in lower Cutler this afternoon started oddly. I heard a steady high-pitched chirp (a baby bird?) and finally spotted the source--a male robin, pinned to its branch, unmoving.

A short walk down the trail--a hawk comes crashing through the trees (and then is scared off when it notices me). Out on the boardwalk, things are also tense, as the hawk flew off in that direction. A gang of goldfinches are protesting, and as I approach, the hawk is scared off again and flies back towards the woods. The common yellowthroat above flies out of the brush after the hawk and perches on the top of a tree, chirping and watching.


I've not known the yellowthroat to have this heroic side.