The Great Backyard Bird Count - Days 2 & 3

Yesterday morning things were eerily quiet around our feeders. A couple of cardinals sat motionless in a pear tree and a squirrel practically hugged another tree. No one was at the feeders. That could only mean one thing: A predator was out there. And then I saw a Cooper's hawk landing on one of our trees, the squirrel not too far above him! After a few moments it flew off again. It did not take long for the birds to return to our feeder.
This morning I spotted 17 cardinals in our backyard. I stopped counting them after that, because what was the point? I didn't even know we had that many around. A less pleasant surprise was counting 18 starlings. Where do they all come from all of a sudden? I am pleased, though, to see a flicker returning to our feeder regularly. And after seeing a turkey at our feeder twice this week it isn't showing up at all to be counted.