Have you seen this bird at your feeders? This is a picture of an immature Cooper's Hawk, taken by Becky Cullen in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Cooper's Hawk is one of three accipiter species in the United States - larger than a Sharp-shinned Hawk and smaller than the rare Northern Goshawk, the Cooper's Hawk is at home in suburban settings, often nesting next to houses or other buildings. Relatively short winged and long tailed, the Cooper's Hawk is a skilled flying machine that often preys on smaller birds. It stands to reason then that the Cooper's Hawk will often actively hunt feeding stations. It is hard to appreciate the beauty, speed, agility and power of the Cooper's Hawk if it just picked off your lone Common Redpoll or Red-breasted Nuthatch from your feeder. However, the Cooper's Hawk does not discriminate when it comes to choosing its meals, and is simply looking to survive. I don't know that I have ever read that Cooper's Hawks are crepuscular, but it seems that I see them more during the dawn and dusk hours or dreary days with diminished light. I am not sure if there have been formal studies on the intelligence of the Cooper's Hawk, but my own observations support the theory that this species has above average I.Q. There is no question in my mind that the Cooper's Hawk "hides" behind things - trees for sure but also man-made structures like garages and rooftops prior to launching into its attack flight. I have heard they have been known to drown their prey and a friend of mine, Becky Cullen has made some really interesting observations of fledgling Cooper's Hawks in play behavior (Becky, if you are reading, perhaps you can share your experience? Post a comment and I will be happy to publish it). The bottom line is, if you see a Cooper's Hawk in your yard or neighborhood, you should not try discourage it; rather, sit back and appreciate all of the great things the Cooper's Hawk has to offer, and if it happens to eat a bird at your bird feeders, then just hope it is a House Sparrow or starling instead of a redpoll or nuthatch!
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Hi, Greg. We were lucky to have Cooper's Hawks nesting in our neighbors' tree for a couple of years. Upon fledging that first year, the four juveniles spent most of their time in our yard, although they wandered the neighborhood quite a bit and were often seen bathing in a child's wading pool a couple of doors down (which is the reason I now have a small garden pond in my back yard and they do make good use of it). The first year, after two of the four young birds had taken leave of the yard, the remaining two put on quite a display one day. The neighbors behind us had an old fashioned tree swing - a board tied to the three with two long ropes. The two Cooper's took turns swinging on the swing. They would jump up onto the board which would set it swinging and they would try to maintain balance as long as they could before falling off. Then they'd run around the base of the tree a couple times and jump back up on the swing. I didn't own a video camera at the time which is a darn shame because it would have been great behavior to get on film. The next couple years the nest was down the street a half block, but then they came back to the same tree next door. That year I caught two birds once again engaging in some interesting play behavior. We had one of those large metal compost bins that sat on tall legs. There were some long narrow boards laying across the metal bars running between the legs. The two hawks would take turns perching on the neighbors' split rail fence and from there jumping down onto the ends of the boards sticking out from under the tank. The boards would bounce up and down like a trampoline and the birds would ride them like a bucking bronc. This time I did have a video camera and I was able to capture them practicing pouncing on prey, i.e. the ends of the boards. The four young birds from the first year's nest also played a lot of tag. They would chase each other round and round the house and yard. Many times it looked like they were going to crash into the corner of the roof but they always swooped at the last instant just in time to avoid it. Their maneuvering skills are something to behold! If you are lucky enough to have Cooper's nesting in your yard, take time to observe them as often as you can. They can be quite entertaining. It was always a sad day when the last ones decided it was time to move on.
Becky Cullen
Thanks for your detailed comments Becky. Fascinating indeed!
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