Cooper’s Hawk on my Fence this Morning!!

IMG_1492-hawk-2

This guy (or one like it) has visited my bird feeders before, but this is the first time that he stayed still long enough to get some good photos.  He wants to snatch a bird from my feeder, but the chickadees warn all of the birds by saying “DEE DEE DEE” really loud when they see him, and they hide in the bushes.

I had previously thought this was a Sharp-shinned Hawk but after carefully reading about the differences between Sharp-Shinned Hawk and the Cooper’s Hawk, I think it’s a Cooper’s Hawk, but I’m still open to opinions!  I’m far from an expert in identifying birds.  His eye is yellow so I think he’s a juvenile.  The stripes don’t look rufous nor dense so that’s what tipped it in favor of being a Cooper’s Hawk.  Also, he was bigger than a Stellar Jay.

He did a little “fence hopping” before taking off:

hawk fence jumping

Aside from him, the birds that visited my feeders today were the typical winter visitors: Dark-eyed Juncos, Pine Siskins, Black Capped Chickadees, Northern Flicker, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Spotted Towhee, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

One comment

  1. Enjoyed seeing the Cooper’s Hawk. The fence poses are interesting. Makes me think that he was hesitant about leaving.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*