Tonight as I was leaving the bird store a noticed a Cooper's hawk sitting in the feeding area. I waited for a few minutes so as not to disturb its hunting and then it dove down to the ground into some cat tails where song and house sparrows hide out.

I snuck out the building and tried to get closer. I got to within twenty feet and I could see the grass moving where the hawk was but couldn't see the hawk. From under my parked car came the resident wild rabbit hopping out to see if I was putting out any food. The rabbit took a leisurely hop in my direction then noticed the rustling sound in the cat tails. I hopped straight for the cat tails and more importantly straight to the Cooper's hawk. Now, the hawk looked to me to be a male and a full grown cottontail is a little much for a Cooper's to take on, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. As the rabbit continued on it's path, I said "You really don't want to go that way." but since when do rabbits listen to anything I say.

Finally, the rabbit and the hawk came face to face, both were incredibly surprised. The hawk darted straight up, the rabbit put on the breaks, the hawk hovered a moment about to dive on the rabbit. The rabbit flung itself sideways into the thickest part of the cat tails. The hawk flew to a nearby branch. It wasn't particularly graceful on either creature's part but a moment in nature you rarely see: the "oh crap" moment.