Cooper's Hawk

Surprise is a predator's most worthy asset.

Being one with your environment helps make predation happen. Resting motionless on a monochrome backdrop, a Cooper's Hawk watches for a dining opportunity.

Soaring quietly overhead is another stealthy approach to finding a meal.

The Cooper's Hawk is mainly a bird hunter. Typical prey includes doves, pigeons and starlings, but robins, jays and even chickens are also targets.

Though mostly in the West, small mammals like bats, chipmunks, squirrels and hares round out the Cooper's Hawks' diet.

This juvenile Cooper's Hawk looks healthy and well-fed, still, he concentrates on something of interest in the Sonoran Desert behind our home in Tucson, AZ.

Rainfall is rare in the desert, yet it happens.

Coping with the indignities of a wet feather coat once in a while comes with the territory.

(Click any picture to enlarge.)

This juvenile Cooper's Hawk is a frequent visitor on our patio.

Surprisingly, as I write this a Cooper's Hawk startled the birds on our platform feeder into panic flight. I looked up quickly enough only to see a Cooper's Hawk dart through the scattering birds. I missed the capture, but watched as a cascade of dove feathers floated back to earth.

The hawk had a meal.

It was the cycle of life playing out once again on a sunny Sunday morning.

Allan

Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley Guide to Birds