The stage is set for out little drama. Junco, a small greyish bird often seen in large groups ground feeding, is hopping around nervously in the bush, searching for better cover and anxiously eyeing the protagonist. Sharp-shinned's only action at first is a stare that shifts ever so slightly with the movement. Suddenly, sharp-shinned is in flight and at the arbor vitae in an instant. He flies tight spirals around the bush, lifted by his short, powerful wings.
Fear gives way to carelessness and the junco makes a wrong move.
With the snatch of a talon, the first act is over, with sharp-shinned left in a soliloquy of plucking feathers from his unfortunate victim. Not all of the shows on this screen are happy ones, but they do offer stunning realism. Nature often is not a showplace for kindness. I regret the loss of the helpless junco. It is pleasant to watch as it sifts through the seeds dropped from the feeder by other birds.