An anxious house cat, pacing and peering out the patio door, provided the first inkling that something unusual might be going on in the backyard of Gail Weller's home in Sylvania.

Three or four squirrels had been taking advantage of a mild, sunny February day to engage in a frenetic game of tag. With a bird feeder nearby, nothing was out of the ordinary about the squirrels staying close to a free lunch, given they are notorious bullies around those seedy stations.

When a pair of the squirrels scooted up a nearby tree, things got testy, in an adversarial kind of way. Perched on a thin limb that gave it a great vantage point to observe the goings-on at the feeder was a meat-eater, a predator, a Cooper's hawk.

One of the squirrels bailed out of the prolonged game of chase and recklessly walked out on the same branch occupied by the hawk. A beady-eyed standoff ensued, and Weller found the confrontation a bit unnerving.

"I was thinking ... this can't be good," Weller said. "I was wondering if that squirrel was on a suicide mission, or what."

The squirrel eventually moved even closer to the hawk, likely not realizing he could be the substitute entree for this raptor who no doubt came to the bird feeder looking for an easy meal, and not one of suet or sunflower seeds.

After about 10 minutes, the stalemate ended with the squirrel retreating to the upper reaches of the tree. The Cooper's hawk stayed another 15 minutes or so before moving on.

Weller said her backyard feeder attracts an array of feathered visitors -- cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, robins and woodpeckers. She feeds year-round. She said the hawk has frequented the area, once hitting the patio door as it engaged in an aerial pursuit of a mourning dove.

Local birding expert Matt Anderson examined the photo and said he was comfortable identifying the stalker in the Weller's backyard as an immature Cooper's hawk, a species which closely resembles a Sharp-shinned hawk, but is usually a bit larger and more common in Ohio in the winter months.

The Cooper's hawk is a notorious marauder around bird feeders, using its speed and maneuverability to take down other birds in mid-flight. Its prey includes robins, starlings, pigeons, quail, and pheasants, but this hawk also will use an opportunistic moment to feed on chipmunks, mice, bats, lizards, frogs, and snakes, or an occasional squirrel.

This hawk is widely distributed throughout North America, with the southern part of the Great Lakes region included in its year-round range. It moves north into the upper Great Lakes, northern New England, the upper Plains States, and the southern edges of the Canadian provinces in the summer months. Mexico and most of Central America are part of the extensive winter range of the Cooper's hawk.

Weller and the many other casual bird observers in the area, as well as those who catalog birds as a hobby or an avocation, will want to be on the lookout for Cooper's hawks over the next four days, when the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place.

The annual event starts Friday and runs through Monday and is an informal, en masse effort to provide a real-time snapshot of the types of birds dispersed throughout the North American continent, and their numbers. Participation in this all-volunteer army of avian snoopers is informally structured, so the time commitment can be as little as 15 minutes, any time of the day.

The count is coordinated by Audubon, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and its Canadian partner, Bird Studies Canada. Gary Langham, chief scientist for Audubon, encouraged first-timers to be part of the legion of bird counters across the continent.

"We all learn and watch birds together -- whether you are an expert, novice, or feeder watcher," Langham said "I like to invite new birders to join me and share the experience. Get involved, invite your friends, and see how your favorite spot stacks up."

Last year, more than 92,000 observers turned in checklists tallying more than 11 million bird observations. Information and downloadable forms are available at www.birdcount.org where reports from the current count and those from previous years can be viewed.

Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.

First Published February 17, 2012, 5:00 a.m.