What a difference a week makes!

Last Monday, the bluebirds were very busy in the garden.  I could see that they had made a nest in the bluebird box. They were constantly busy on the railing near the feeder and flying to the ground below the feeder and on the nearby birdbath.  The sun was making their blue feathers sparkle.  On Tuesday, there was not a bird around.  The housefinches, the mourning doves, the goldfinches, the woodpecker were all missing. I found a sparrow on the birdhouse.  And the following days the grackles and the starlings took over. I couldn't believe it was the same garden.  The week got colder and cloudier and the dark birds stayed in command of the garden and the feeder.  I asked Larry to take down the suet to deter the grackles.  The finches came back, both yellow and purple.  The woodpecker probably misses the suet and hasn't been spotted. The mourning doves are back on the ground. I could not figure out what happened until Saturday morning when we spotted a Cooper's Hawk on the railing.

I didn't catch him there, but he flew to the trees across the street.  Is this why the garden was void of birds last Tuesday?  The bluebird couple has returned but they don't go to the nestbox. I think the sparrow robbed them of their home and nest. Nature controls the weather and the food cycle and the nesting box!