Master of all she surveys

Generally speaking, the avian population in my back yard is limited to the prosaic likes of mourning doves and blue jays. But one day back in March, I took a look out my back door in passing and was startled to spot this rather large bird (about a foot tall) perched on the deck railing. Though it may not be immediately evident in the longer view above...

... a closer look (click on the photo for an even larger view, if you're not the squeamish type) may reveal that it has a chunk of some hapless prey clutched in its claws, upon which it intermittently munched between long spells of swiveling its head back and forth to eyeball the surroundings, no doubt on the lookout for its next meal. It sat there for a long time finishing its dinner before eventually retiring to the branches of the crape myrtle, where it continued its steely-eyed lookout for another hour or so before finally disappearing.

A friend at work has tentatively identified the beastie as a female Cooper's hawk. I haven't seen it since that day, which is fine with me; I don't really think I'd be comfortable lying in my hammock, or even mowing the grass, back there with this perched in the tree overlooking the yard.