One of the first things you learn as a birder is to look up to see the birds.
And in winter, it’s a lot easier to look for birds in the trees and shrubs: there are no leaves to hide the birds.
When I noticed the sounds of animals along the trail at Detroit’s Belle Isle State Park had suddenly gone quiet, I knew there had to be a reason.
I peered through my binoculars at the tree canopy, looking up at the tree trunks and large branches.
Found it!
A majestic Cooper’s Hawk—with its gorgeous copper-patterned white breast—perched on a limb about 20 feet above my head, looked out over the trail.
Less than a minute later, the hawk quickly took off.
Easily gliding through the tangles of tree and shrub branches near the snow-covered marsh, I wondered what his next meal would be.
