Hawk on the Hunt

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Tina

With a fortuitous glance out the window, I saw a Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii, glide to and perch on our swing beam.

Typically hunters of other birds rather than rodents, the only potential prey that I noticed were a couple of Grey Squirrels running atop the wooden fence behind the swing beam as the hawk landed, and who nearly tied themselves into a knot as they scrambled away from the hawk’s reach. That was a funny sight, but I can’t blame the squirrels for their caution!

There are several Cooper’s in our neighborhood and this time of year, I see at least one almost daily. I think this is a juvenile or young adult hawk, as its eyes are not the deep orange of an adult, but more golden colored. Also, it didn’t catch anything; young hawks have a steep learning curve.

Happy hunting handsome–there are more than enough doves.

Not a Worm

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Tina

You know what they say: The early bird gets the worm.

In this case, the early bird wasn’t the least bit interested in a worm, but instead chose dove or mockingbird as its breakfast of choice.

Just as it was light this morning, I spotted this juvenile male Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii, enjoying a meal atop the remains of my neighbor’s Arizona Ash tree. The tree was damaged during the February 2021 freeze, but retained some of its lower branches. The upper branches all died and were removed last summer. What remains are some well-utilized perches for a variety of birds, including this beauty.

It’s possible that the hawk caught its prey yesterday evening, ate some of it, and saved the rest to finish for breakfast. I know I like left over pizza for breakfast, though I’d probably pass on dove. To each their own.

As I watched the hawk, it fluttered from the highest perch, to the one just below. I’m not certain what the advantage of the lower perch presented, but the hawk stayed for a bit, flying off later to spend the day hunting.

Observe that the outer bark of the tree is pulling away from the main wood. All of the trees damaged in that devastating freeze have similar shedding of of bark, some are larger pieces like this, some smaller. The birds don’t mind, though; it’s been fun to see the variety of birds making use of these large limbs. Everything from this big hawk to tiny hummingbirds perch on various parts of these limbs. I just have to remember to notice.

It’s What’s for Dinner

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Tina

**This series of photos shows a predator eating prey.**

Towards the end of a day, I walked into my front garden, and glancing to my neighbor’s lawn, saw this Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii, enjoying its Sunday dinner.

On the menu that evening was White-winged Dove, a favorite meal for the neighborhood hawks. I’ll admit to always feeling a bit sorry for those who are caught, but this scene demonstrates at least one part of a healthy ecosystem: that there are predators to hunt plentiful prey–and that is a good thing. There are more than enough fat, well-fed White-winged Doves in our area.

I imagine that this hawk is an adult from the mated pair of Cooper’s nesting behind my SIL’s house. As the trees leafed out, watching the hawks at their nesting site became nearly impossible, but they’re still around and hunting. Obviously.

The hawk ate for about an hour, eventually flying off with the last part of the meal, presumably as a snack for later–or to feed its babies. I’ll have a better idea of the Cooper’s parents’ success if I see a juvenile hunting in late summer and autumn.