This winter has seen a drop in the normal activity around our bird feeder. Juncos, chickadees, nuthatches and the like have been infrequent visitors. That's not surprising -- the mild winter has afforded them ample feeding opportunities afield. Despite the food abundance in the wild, the cardinals have shown up with regularity.

The sharp-shinned hawk, pictured above, must be enjoying the winter weather, as small birds make up a good part of its diet. I've seen that intense stare at close range once before. My first encounter with a "sharpie" took place while I sat in a tree stand. That autumn afternoon it flew in for a brief stop, perching a few feet away -- I assumed it was attracted to the turkey quill fletching on my arrows.  

The cardinal's coloration causes it stand out even on a dismal day or in a forest interior. Though pleasing to the eye, with bird-eating raptors in the vicinity it's akin to placing a target on its back. 

The sharp shinned hawk's long legs, short rounded wings and very long tail all come in handy for coursing through the woodlands at high speed in pursuit of its prey.

This cardinal has so far managed to stay off the sharpie's menu. Around our home, at the first sign of trouble small birds fly into a spiraea hedge or thick  grapevines in an adjacent woodlot.

While they are built for winged pursuit, the sharp-shinned hawk will also pounce on its quarry from a low perch, notably small mammals such as mice and voles. That may have been what he was up to before I arrived. In the above photo, he's unfolding his wings and a second later he was airborne, flying deeper into the woods.