For the past couple of weeks we have had a male Red Bellied woodpecker
visiting a peanut feeder in our backyard.  Today, while we were eating
lunch in the family room, he put in his daily appearance for a snack.  He
would grab a nut and fly to a nearby tree to eat it and then return to
the feeder for another one.  Suddenly, instead of flying to the tree, he
came towards the house and crashed into a window.  Immediately my wife
went to the window to check on him and saw a neighbors marauding cat
heading that way.  She went outside to chase the cat away and observe the
woodpecker.  It slowly began to recover while she stood guard (the cat
came back twice).  At first it was on its back with wings spread out.  In
a few minuets it had turned over, stopped panting and closed the beak,
opened its eyes and was attempting to stand.  About this time, as I was
watching from inside the house, a very large bird swooped in low behind
my wife and sailed up to the roof.  It was a Red Tailed hawk that
continued to perch on the peak and watch the woodpecker below.  With my
wife still standing guard the standoff continued for several minutes.
Finally, not really wanting to tangle with a large hawk, she backed up a
few feet.
     That was all it took.  The Red Tail dropped down, grabbed the Red
Bellied, and flew up to the top of a power pole in the neighbors yard.
There over the next half hour it pulled the feathers off (they floated
back into our yard) and devoured the woodpecker.   A similar fate
happened to a fox squirrel there a few years ago.  I did not mind losing
the squirrel, but I did enjoy watching the Red Bellied.  Oh well, the
food chain at work.  O. D. Line, Findlay

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