Visitor in our backyard

[amazing_parrots]

Got a real treat when I looked out our bedroom window. Sitting there was this hawk on our corner fence. Some are saying he's a Coopers Hawk?

Here ya go....

[ElaineHoandCaique]

From what I see in the pic, it's 100% definately a cooper's hawk - I worked at the Toronto Wildlife Centre so I recognize it :). Gorgeous aren't they? Magnificent to watch when they take off - it's like you never want them to fly out of site just so you can marvel at them!

[Tishrei]

Oh my gosh, what a magnificant creature God created!

[birdlady49]

Ahhhhh gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

[aphoeniceus]

That is not a Cooper's Hawk. Its a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. I volunteer at a raptor rehab center and see several of those every day. Same with Cooper's Hawks, I see many many of them each year. The feet on your bird are way to thick to be a Cooper's (they really have thin feet, I know this because I have to leg catch them so we can weigh them each week), and you can even barely see a hint of red on your birds tail. Definitely a red-tail.

Here is a picture of a Red-tailed Hawk. Note the white throat, with dark bill and yellowish cere.


Here is a picture of a Juvenile Cooper's. Note it's smaller head, long tail, distinct breast spotting, and stubbier bill.


For comparison, here is an adult Cooper's



Awesome bird to be seeing in your yard for sure though!

[sadiemom]

Two families of merlins live in my neighborhood. They are cool, even if they do snack on song birds. I enjoy the babies as they learn to fly and hunt. Larger prairie raptors are also around although they rarely come into town except in the winter when they know there will be sparrows at the feeders.

[Boodahbird]

Wow! That's a beautiful bird.....and the photos are great. Good job. I hope he visits you often.

[myrebalynn]

Beautiful! (even if he is a predator!) :P

[xsiveone]

Hawks are a sore subject for me. We have a whole family of Hawks living near my house. Probably five or six. They are either Red Tailed or Coopers, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm sick of seeing them.

This June, I found a fledgling House Wren (I'm not 100% sure that it's a Wren) on the ground out in front of my house. I couldn't find the nest, but the mother was hanging around and still feeding it. For the first night, I made a make shift nest for it out of a plastic container and put it in a tree. It stayed there all night, but when I went to look out for it in the morning, I noticed a Hawk in the tree trying to get it. I ran down and scared the Hawk away. I thought for sure that the Hawk had gotten it, but I looked down and he was on the ground, unhurt.

He couldn't fly more than a few feet and couldn't get up in the tree by himself. Once in the tree, he'd hop from branch to branch and then he'd eventually lose his grip and flutter to the ground.

Anyway.. To make a long story short, I spent a week looking after this little guy waiting for him to learn to fly. He kept getting stronger every day and I bonded to him. Whenever I'd find him on the ground, I'd give him a chance to try to flutter up the tree and then I'd put him in the tree to keep him safe. On the morning marking one week that I found him, I went out and found him on the ground again at about 6 am. I put him back up in the tree. I went out again about 8 am and he was nowhere to be found. I looked all around and then I found a small pile of feathers with some flesh attached to it. A Hawk had gotten him. He was getting so close to being able to fly too. I was so mad and heartbroken over it.

In retrospect, I don't know that he would've lived without my intervention or if I extended the fledgling period by helping him back into the tree. He was so close to being able to fly. The mom was really protective too. She'd go out and chase the Hawks if she'd see them hanging around. She was so brave. One of the most heartbreaking things was to see the mom looking for her baby after the Hawk had gotten him. She had a big fat green caterpillar in her mouth and she was flying around looking for him.

What really irritates me the most about these Hawks is that I have a Field Mouse problem right now. They were getting in my wife's car last winter and made a huge mess. Why do these Hawks have to go after little birds and don't go after the mice?

Sorry for bringing anyone down.

[aphoeniceus]

Hawks do go after the mice, its just that the mice have a safe haven to nest, whether its under your house or even in your house. They have shelter there. Where there are no human structures, mice are much more accessable to birds of prey and aren't found in quite such large numbers.

I'm sorry about your wren. I am an ornithologist and I specialize in song birds, but also work with raptors. It is unlikely it would have survived anyway considering the situation. But, a number of animals could have gotten that bird. Cats, coyotes, foxes, etc are all predators of small birds. Just like any other animal, hawks are opportunists and will not pass by such an easy meal (in this case, the wren). I tend to let nature run its course, especially while I do field work. If I see a bird in need, I just let nature do what it does best, survival of the fittest. Unless of course its human caused, then I do what I can to help them out.