A Bevy of Birds and one Beseiged Cat

The chirping and screeching that intruded upon my normally quiet backyard alerted me that something was going on that was out of the normal. Figuring this might be a photo opportunity, I grabbed my camera and ran for the door. What I saw at first was a bevy of birds swooping and chattering at a grey tiger cat sitting under a lilac bush on my neighbors fence. I frequently chase the neighborhood cats away from stalking the birds at my feeders, so I started for the hose when I realized something I had never seen before was happening under my nose. The cat was not stalking the birds. The birds were stalking the cat. Several birds. Different species of birds working together to give this cat a reason not to get anywhere near their nests again. Robins and grackles and a Anna's hummingbird all took turns swooping at this cat, who was cowering into the bush to avoid being pecked. None of the birds would cooperate with the slower shutter speed of the digital camera so that I could get a photo of them with the cat, but got a few of the birds waiting on a nearby swingset waiting their turn. Nature never ceases to surprise me.