Something had preyed upon a visiting bird. Given the downy feathers, scant amount of blood, and lack of a carcass, I suspect the predator was a hawk. Because I have a large field behind the house and four mature pines, hawks are a familiar site. I have seen kestrels, red-tailed hawks, cooper's hawks, and sharp-shinned hawks over the years.
This bird may have been taken by either a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk, as both are known to prey on songbirds at feeders. The two hawks are challenging to distinguish from each other, but I have seen a hawk with a grey back perched in the one of the pines in the past week and sailing over the top of the house into a neighbor's tree out front just two days ago. It was one or the other species, and I am determined to figure out which is visiting my trees as hawks are among my favorite birds. Hopefully the predation won't become a regular activity.
In summer of 2012, we had a significant drought with little to no rain in the area for nearly the entire summer. A young hawk visited the dogs' water bowl in the back yard and enjoyed a bath for several minutes.
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