Subtle Signs

Sitting on the porch this morning, I could see four Coopers Hawks. Two were on the utility pole, and two were perched in Maple tree. They were all illuminated by the early morning sunlight. I noticed to my surprise that there were no alarm calls. The other birds were singing and flying freely from place to place, seemingly unconcerned by the presence of so many Hawks.

Why weren't they calling out warnings about the abundance of predators? There must be some subtle sign that I didn't understand that told the prey creatures when Hawk was a threat and when Hawk wasn't. I wanted to understand this sign. My culture teaches me that Hawk is always a threat, and that I need to be always be on guard. But apparently, there is wisdom here that I have yet to decipher.

Today, I will be paying attention to situations that I would usually consider dangerous and looking for subtle signs that tell me when I need to be on guard and when I don't.