Cooper's Hawks
Early in August (2020) we had a visit from a Cooper's Hawk. Since that day we have seen, not one, but often two or three young hawks in our backward. They seem to like watching the squirrels. Sometimes they go after one but we have yet to see them catch one.
More and more Cooper's Hawks
The hawks have visited our back yard every day for the last two weeks. I have seen them swoop down after squirrels, sometimes in tandem. I have seen them fly rings around a tree (that I assume contains a squirrel that I could not see). I have seen them hop rather clumsily through the tree tops after a small bird that remained out of reach. I have seen one land on the ground and hop into the undergrowth. Not once have I seen one catch anything. But presumably they must succeed often enough because they look very well fed.
Cooper's Hawk Returns
The Cooper's hawk returns to our backyard several times a day. Here are some more pictures from some of those visits.
Cooper's Hawk - The First Visits
August 1, 2020 - This is the first time I have seen a Cooper's Hawk in our back yard. The first two photographs were taken around 7:40 AM. Did it catch a squirrel or one of the other rodents that hang out around our bird feeder? The remaining photographs were taken around 11:30 AM. The two photographs of the hawk on the ground were right after a failed attempt to catch a squirrel below our feeder. I hope we see more of this bird (and less of the squirrels as a result).
Update for August 2, 2020 - Not one but two Cooper's Hawks hunting as a team (or at least trying to do so). The last picture in this album shows one of the hawks staring intently at a grey squirrel. Quite how the squirrel escaped I do not know, because it ran past the hawk on a parallel branch literally inches from that hooked beak!
Second update for August 2, 2020 - The squirrels are most definitely skittish today. Can't say I blame them!
