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

Okay, I may have been way off with my thinking that this was a sharp-shinned hawk. I have had adults in my yard before and I assumed that this was a juvenile. However, this could be a common nighthawk which we have around here. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada and the whip-poor-will is not common in my area. My book says they are more common in southwestern Sask. and I am east central Sask. Can anyone identify this bird for sue?

Thanks elly! My nephew has one those huge telephone nikon lens so he wasn't close at all. The female hunted our property every week this winter and got so she'd hide until I started calling in the Stellar Jays to get the peanuts. She'd then know about 10 to 20 stellars would be coming in. She got several til I checked her favorite trees before calling. I call her Lady and she posed for me quite often. I could get as close as just below her tree. She'd wait til I did my morning feeds for the birds and follow me around quietly and always manage to get a jay, junco or starling. I'd often see her sneeking in to hide as I got out my supplies. Here is a link that might be useful: sharp-shinned hawk cropped 2

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.