There are three things I worry about with cats (all of which may be at least partially unfounded). One is that the cat would kill a lot of birds. I hear people talking about this a lot, but am unsure exactly how much of a problem it would be. Another is that the cat might not really do the job. I've heard that some cats are good at getting rid of rodents and others just have no interest. I'd hate to have one make friends with my voles. The last is that the cat would damage things itself. I know other gardens have cats that don't seem to do much damage, but I've seen cats dig up plants, heard about cats killing grass and plants with urine, and seen them leave poop surprises in my flower beds. It's not a good feeling when you realize the dirt clod you just broke up was a little more than dirt.

Thank you for the kind comments! Birds quickly learn to recognize when predators are in "hunting mode" or not, sometimes reminding me of Wile E. Coyote vs sheepdog cartoons where the sheepdog and coyote punch into work, greet each other, have coffee, then at the whistle start harassing each other. I've seen a Sharp-shinned Hawk waking up at dawn in the top of a tree next to Northern Flickers, bluebirds, etc. They'd all stretch and preen within a few feet of each other, then the hawk would fly off. After about 30 minutes when the other birds had begun feeding the hawk would come back, skimming low over the field, then go into pursuit of some terrified flicker. Wow..love the Sharpie photo

It looks from here to be a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, as already stated. The tail on Accipiters is long with wide bands, and this bird has that. As for the differences between Accipiters, juvenile Cooper's Hawks have fine brown chest streaks that usually come short of the belly, and this bird has that. So, good call.

looks like I got a picture of a different hawk.. My "dove eater" has different under-the-wing markings than a red tail. Thanks for the ID... I'll keep the camera out and hopefully I will catch him one of these days.