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Wildlife: Foiling backyard ha~--'~ attacks remember that. Sooner or later asharp-shinned hawk, its larger cousin the Cooper's hawk, or maybe a kestrel will visit your feeders. And it won't be seeds they're after. Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks are easy to recognize but difficult to distinguish. Both are blue-gray above and have reddish brown barring across the chest and both species have a long narrow tail. Though sharpies are smaller, females of both species are larger than males, and the size of female sharpies and male Cooper's hawks can overlap. Distinguishing female sharpies from male Cooper's can frustrate even experienced birders. At the extremes, a male sharp-shin can be as small as a blue jay, while a female Cooper's can be as big as a crow. A few summers ago I witnessed a sharpie attack from the air as it patrolled my yard. I was working outside when a hummingbird buzzed around the corner of the house. After turning the corner, it veered right and headed down off the ridge. A split second later came the speeding sharpie. It followed precisely the same flight path the hummer had taken and gained ground as I watched. When it snatched the hummingbird from the air, I heard a faint futile scream. The natural reaction to predators that kill the birds we work so hard to attract is horror, anger and/or sadness. But life and death are inexorably intertwined. Every death sustains another life. Nature's cycle of life and death is neither good nor bad. It just is. First published on February 22, 2004 at 12'00 am Send questions and comments to Scott Shalaway, R.D. 5, Cameron, W.Va. 26033 or via a-mail to sshalaway@aol.com. And listen to Shalaway 2-4 p.m. Saturdays on WPTT-AM (1360). Page 2 of 2 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04053/276065.stm t ~i~i~nn~