While the cleanup continues…
Movement caught my eye about 4:30 and got me to look up.
The dove was pumping pell mell and away across the yard–then suddenly dodged left and thought it could escape the hawk through the objects that were–in my family room? Here they come!
My eyes were on the Cooper’s coming straight at me so that I barely saw his prey: those big wings were beating at hummingbird speed, no easy coasting here. Then suddenly he spun in a tight U, again just inches from the window just as the dove hit it and fell back stunned between the shoes put out to dry from the burst water heater, a foot (heh) from the glass door between them and me. The hawk, not needing one extra wing beat in his perfectly-timed choreography and knowing exactly where everything was even though glass is clear and there were new objects in front of it, reached back with his feet, wrapped talons around his just-fallen prey just so, lifted it in towards his body for better aerodynamics, all in the blink of an eye, and flew out to the lawn, successful.
Intelligence in the wild is an awesome thing to behold.