Birds Frozen in Time
With all the Blue Jays I have in my yard, when a hawk is in the area, I am usually notified with a cacophony of loud and urgent calls from these yard sentries. But even without the warnings from the jays, if I see a woodpecker "frozen" in time, I know to look around for avian predators.
Hairy Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are amongst those birds that will perch or cling perfectly still, sometimes for minutes on end, if there is (or they suspect there is) a hawk in the area. Other birds like the jays and doves and juncos hurry off to get the heck out of Dodge, but Hairy Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers will try to be inconspicous by not moving a muscle.
White-breasted Nuthatch
Other birds that I've seen freeze like this are both Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches as well as Tufted Titmice. They seem to wait until other birds resume their foraging and feeding activities before they become active again.
This is an interesting article by The Zen Birdfeeder. I often hear birds screeching loudly in the garden and know it signals a predator such as a large bird or a cat.
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