My husband Jim opened the back deck door a crack and nearly let in a juvenile female cardinal pursued by a hawk. Startled by the proximity of the large hawk, Jim shut the door and the cardinal hit the glass. Stunned, she fell on our deck and sat there, breathing and blinking, but otherwise immobile. Worried, Jim sheltered her with a snow shovel and watched the hawk to keep him or her away.
He came back to the bedroom where I was folding clean laundry and told me about the drama of the hawk and the cardinal, and I came out to see the hawk standing on our deck. He/she was looking for the cardinal.
The squirrels, sparrows, and chickadees who had been feeding in great numbers on our sunflower seeds had taken a powder. While on bicycle rides, we've seen small flocks of red-winged blackbirds chase hawks from the area of their nests, but we've never seen any other kind of bird chase a hawk, though once at Eagle Ridge Campground on the Root River Trail in southeastern Minnesota, we asked if turkey vultures flying above were eagles.
"Those are turkey vultures," the knowledgeable woman who co-owned Eagle Ridge told us. "If there was an eagle anywhere around, all the other birds, including the turkey vultures, would take a powder."
The hawk on our deck flew from our ash tree to a neighbor's tree and back again, still maintaining surveillance of our little immobile cardinal, which had moved enough to stare directly into our back deck broom. Whenever a cat of ours stares directly at the wall long enough, we know it's sick.
This bird still didn't look good. Its presumed mother pecked at it and then began to eat sunflower seeds nearby as though dismissing her progeny with a shrug. Maybe it wasn't mama cardinal, but she looked more adult and sleek than the plump, small juvenile.
Finally, I realized the little bird wasn't progressing and I was afraid she'd freeze to death if she didn't move. So I put clean, soft flannel rags on the bottom of our cat basket carrier, the only way I could keep her safe from our two cats inside and Piper, the grandkitty we have staying with us right now, a large grey predator who's not one to live and let live, though she's a very nice cat with people.
I carefully picked up the little bird, who didn't put up a fight other than a weak little flutter, put her in the cage, made sure the cats couldn't get her, and put in a glass custard cup of sunflower seeds and a custard cup of water where she could reach them.
She has plenty of room. As soon as she's well enough to fly and fly safely without being dazed or having double vision, or whatever is bothering her so much now, of course I'll let her go. What scares me is that she could freeze to death through immobility before she's ready to fly. Also, the hawk could get her before she's in full possession of her faculties, assuming she recovers.
You never know who may need help over the holidays. Anything or anyone who flies my way will certainly get whatever help I can offer.
Update: Our little cardinal revived indoors and started cheeping. She stood on her little bowl of sunflower seeds, pooped on her soft flannel rags, looked at the birds outside and acted like she wanted to join them. After I made sure she was quite active and ready for action, I put her down outside and opened the door to the cat carrier she was in. She not only flew away, she flew away quickly to a neighbor's tree as though perfectly sound. I hope she is! It would take a fast hawk to catch her now!