Photo story courtesy of Abbott Schindler
I’ve had an opportunity to watch a Cooper’s Hawk since January, 2023, when it was a juvenile. I was able to photograph the bird from as close as 15 feet, although it was usually 30-40 feet away. I decided it was a female, because it’s pretty darn big for a Cooper’s.
As summer arrived, the youngster delivered a number of fashion shows, which I was delighted to watch.
There’s a nice hedge about 20′ from my viewing spot, and the hawk was fascinated by something in it. While the fashion shows were great to see, the hedge behavior fascinated me.
I eventually found the attraction: the hawk was hearing juncos and really wanted a nibble. At one point I saw her dart out from the hedge in hot pursuit of a junco (the junco got away). And so it went through summer: I’ve got hundreds of shots of this beautiful bird doing a variety of things. She flew off last fall.
Talk about adrenaline: she was on my deck, about 15′ in front of me (I’m indoors) when she took off straight at me! It turned out that there was a dead junco on a table in front of me that she apparently thought about, and then left.
I’m pretty sure that she’s returned this year. A beautiful, large Cooper’s hawk has been making passes in my front yard since spring. I think it’s the same bird because it’s doing a lot of the same things the juvenile did, including “fashion shows”.
And sometimes, when I’m dining on my deck, the bird swoops in low over my head, hoping to catch a bird (except that they always seem to see her coming).
