Pictured here is a Cooper’s Hawk, a resident species in my home city of Vancouver and across much of North America. A skilled predator of songbirds, they can often be found around urban parks, backyard bird feeders and other places where small birds gather. As I photographed this stunning bird in a local park, I positioning myself to get some natural framing from the pink and white flowers of a blossoming cherry tree in which the bird was perched.