Can you imagine my surprise this morning when I looked out and saw a red tailed hawk sitting in the cedar tree near the house?  How strange!  And then I saw the pair of grackles that were defending their nest in that cedar.  The angry grackles were doing their best to drive away the raider.

I picked up the camera, which lay beside me.  I walked to the window and stuck the lens out between two slats of the blinds.  And . . .

A grackle attacks the raiding red tailed hawk

The fury of the attack nearly knocked the hawk from his perch.  He fought to catch his balance and won.

Red tailed hawk fights to maintain his position on the cedar

In final effort, the hawk reached back in toward the nest.  Unfortunately, I missed the shot of red tail flying of with a hatchling in his beak and the parents harassing him as he flew away to dine in peace.