Cooper's Hawk in my garden

Either the birds didn't see the Cooper's Hawk quietly sitting there

 (highly unlikely), or it's just too cold out today (about 9 degrees F right now) to

 care!

See the titmouse casually eating right below the hawk?

The hawk later swooped down & caught a bird, but I couldn't see which one it got.

Here are some more pix from today:

 The birds are hungry!

Red-bellied woodpecker

Northern Cardinal male, with Dark-eyed Juncos

Fruit fly trap

Materials needed

Super-easy Fruit Fly Trap that really works!

You will need:

1. a cone-type coffee filter
2. a clear glass jar
3. yeast
4. beer or apple cider vinegar 
5. a piece of fruit or peel
6. a rubber band

Use a clear glass jar - a mason jar works well.  

(The importance of the clear glass is so that the flies try to escape out of the sides of the jar, instead of through the filter hole.)

Put in some fruit:  banana peel, piece of apple or banana, etc. Add a sprinkle of yeast, and a splash of apple cider vinegar or beer.

Insert a cone-type coffee filter into the neck of the jar, fold it over the rim & secure it with a rubber band.

Secure filter with a rubber band

Then, just poke a small hole in the bottom of the filter, and wait for your victims!

Poke a small hole in the filter bottom

The finished trap - already working, just minutes after being set up.

(Here's a tip:  When the jar is full of fruit flies, I put a lid on it & stick the whole thing in the freezer overnight; the next morning, you'll be able to thaw the jar out & dump out the contents.)