Yesterday, while looking for Sandhill Cranes in Orono, I came across a yearling Cooper's Hawk with a flicker woodpecker kill. The hawk alternated plucking feathers and ripping away meat. It worked on the woodpecker for about 90 minutes. During that time a female Harrier swooped over the kill site, landing about 100 feet behind it. The Cooper's Hawk pulled itself close to the ground when the larger bird appeared, hiding I presume. The Harrier stayed about a minute, making no approach to the diner. At the end, the Cooper's picked up a lump that remained of the woodpecker, and flew off into a neaby woods.
Cooper's Hawk at woodpecker kill site, hiding when Harrier, below, appears.
Below, a spread of woodpecker feathers when Cooper's Hawk left the scen
