Generally speaking birds are gentle creatures and watching them is a restful and relaxing pastime. However, occasionally Mother Nature pulls the curtain of gentleness aside and shows us the violent side of bird life.

Such was the case yesterday morning while at our kitchen table I dawdled over a second cup of coffee watching though the window the birds on our feeder. 

       There was the usual seven or eight purple Finches, a handful of sparrows , several regal Steller’s Jays, a number of mountain Chickadees, and one or two  wild Canaries, when suddenly they all began to flutter about and fly around the feeder in a frenzied flurry of wings and chirps that I could hear even through the window. Then I saw something  strange in the sky right above the tree tops skimming along at a great rate of speed. 

At first it looked like a flying horseshoe but when it quickly made a sharp turn I saw that it was a kind of hawk like bird and I quickly opened my bird book and went to the section on hawks and there it was__ a Peregrine Falcon!!.  I was stunned for this is not just a very rare bird but is on the endangered species list.

 I had heard there were several nesting pairs in Yosemite but never expected to see one right in my own back yard. At any rate this falcon abruptly flew almost straight up in the air  to about a hundred feet or more and then executed a perfect roll over maneuver and came diving straight down at our feeder at an incredible rate of speed that I am certain was either near or over 100 miles an hour. 

Right above the feeder, there suddenly was a burst of feathers as it collided with one of the sparrows.  Then in a violent twist it made a 90 degree turn and swept back up over the treetops. As it went by my window I could clearly see the sparrow struggling vainly in its talons.

So I saw first hand that all is not just atwitter in the bird world. Just like the rest of us the birds have a dark and violent side of their lives and there is much more to being a bird than flapping along eating seeds and chirping pretty melodies to your nest mate.

Everybody has to keep one eye open and watch out for the hawks that fly among us.

Nobody is without trouble and to a sparrow a Peregrine Falcon spells real trouble.