Cooper's Hawk…

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  • #6071
    nhhawk6
    Participant

      Of all our resident hawks, this guy is my favorite. Not a fan of his preference for songbirds, but have to respect his hunting approach and skill. He has never nabbed a bluebird, but enjoys 2-3 successful hunts per day from this very spot. The feeding station is on a hill in the backyard. He doesn’t hide. Just sits here, waits for a bird to return to the general area (within an acre or so), and grabs it out of mid-air. He has lived here as long as we have, so I have no right to complain. His property, not mine.
      Cooper's Hawk

      Randy
      Bedford, New Hampshire

      #6078
      tamsea
      Moderator

        It looks like a sharp-shinned from size and shape but the tail looks like a Coopers. What is it? I understand where you’re coming from. I like to look at them when they are in my backyard and take photos of them but I’ve had one kill my male bluebird so I usually shoo them away.

        Tammy

        #6079
        tamsea
        Moderator

          I’m terrible at telling the difference between the sharp-shinned and the Coopers.

          Tammy

          #6081
          nhhawk6
          Participant

            Hi, Tammy. This guy is my Cooper’s. I do have a Sharp-shinned, two Broad-winged, and several Red-tailed hawks, and they all visit regularly, but my Cooper’s actually lives on my property. Rounded tail, darker grey wings, and bright yellow spot at the base of his beak set him apart from my smaller “sharpie”. I have definitely been fortunate, in that I have yet to lose a bluebird, but I know that won’t last. One thing I don’t understand is that none of the hawks ever grab a Morning Dove. They are big, slow, and fat, yet they never get touched. Maybe they are awful tasting…?…

            Randy
            Bedford, New Hampshire

            #6082
            tamsea
            Moderator

              Duh….just saw that yournpost is titled “Cooper’s”. Sorry! I have seen a few piles of MODO feathers around but not a lot….with as many as there are and as slow and clueless as they are you’d sure think they’d be a Hawks main staple.
              I don’t have a sharpie here.

              Tammy

              #6083
              Carol – Mid-Mo.
              Participant

                Randy, here in Missouri (& probably lots of other places) there is actually a season to legally hunt mourning doves and are highly prized for hunters to eat. So maybe if they taste good to humans the hawk probably doesn’t like the taste (ha, ha). Merry Christmas to all!

                Just Googled the difference between mourning doves & “turtle doves” which my hubby called them and the main difference is mourning doves are in North America and turtle doves are European birds but very similar – lesson learned today.

                #6084
                nhhawk6
                Participant

                  Interesting, Carol.
                  I am an avid fisherman, but I do not hunt, so I looked up the history of hunting regulations in NH and found out an interesting fact: The state of NH had a dove season for one (1) day in 1983. There was such outrage across the state, that they abolished the dove season the next day and reclassified the mourning dove as a songbird. It has been protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty, ever since. All I know is that they eat a lot of my seed, and we should probably revisit the whole mourning dove/songbird thing…

                  Randy
                  Bedford, New Hampshire

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