This behavior marks a rare instance in which a bird of prey takes advantage of human infrastructure for survival. Vladimir Dinets, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, first noticed the hawk’s unusual tactic in the winter of 2021. The zoologist was driving his daughter to school when he saw the bird swoop by a line of stopped cars. When pedestrians crossed, the red light stayed on longer — extending from 30 to 90 seconds — and a line of cars formed. Once the line of cars reached house #8 (see image above), the hawk swooped low and flew behind the vehicles.