Bird of Prey

[ronk]

Here's apic of a hawk chillin' in my yard which is part of his hunting territory thanks to the birds frequenting the feeders. A day after the pic he attacked a mourning dove at the feeder. Other than losing some feathers the dove escaped unhurt as the hawk collided with the feeder pole as he hit the dove.Though he doesn't look too big in the pic he's got an impressive wingspan in flight.

[Gary L]

That is a Cooper's Hawk. I had one in the neighbors yard after a Robin and took some pic's of it and sent them to Dale Bowman and he did a write up on it in the paper with my picture. Pretty cool and the Robin put up a pretty good fight.

[scotth]

had one do a fly through our yard the other day, missed all available targets. was quite a sight though to see him swoop down and try..made me jump as he came out of nowhere.

[alank]

very cool! ...might also be a Sharp-shinned hawk.

Either way, seen one just the other morning for the first time this year banking thru a small grove of crab apple trees. Really cool to see. We always call them Cooper hawks too (my youngest son is named Cooper)

[asherman]

It is cool seeing birds of prey in a residential neighborhood. I have seen both red tailed hawks and great horned owls in my yard at different times. The local rabbit and squirrel population has gone down quite a bit since the raptors have been hanging around the hood. The owl looks like it is big enough to kill the neighbor's incessantly yapping miniature pinscher. I reluctantly warned my neighbor to not leave his dog outside at night alone.

[jim bielecki]

I'd say it's a cooper hawk. I've had a few in my back yard and have seen them several times. They usually hunt down other birds and prefer robins or other "slow" birds. I've seen this...really cool! I noticed too that their speed is ideal for picking off other birds. I have watched them often and haven't seen them pick off any of the squirrels. I don't doubt that they can get 'em but just don't seem to pick them out as a prefered food. You can sometimes identify them with their "laugh". It's a series of short laughs and very loud. I heard it once and found it in a bird book with audio media....the call matched.

[ronk]

Squirrels are under no threat from smaller raptors.My yard is frequented by squirrels which pay no attention to the hawk whenever he comes around.They're strong little guys & would make the hawk pay dearly with their claws & teeth.And the hawk knows it.Also he doesn't like to eat on the ground & squiirels are too heavy to get airborne even if he were foolish enuf to attack one.

[Gary L]

Here are some pictures of the Coopers Hawk in a neighbors year catching a Robin

 

Robin gets away

 

Hawk Chasing it down again

 

Needless to say the Robin finally lost the battle but put up a great fight.

[ronk]

Great pics.Hope the hawk mercifully dispatched the robin quickly.