January 8th, 2015

One day this week a juvenile Cooper’s hawk buzzed the bird feeders here at Blair in the hopes of grabbing a quick bite.  Often they are unsuccessful in the initial strike, but then perch nearby waiting for the birds to leave the safety of cover, and strike again.  They can accelerate to full speed in just a few wingbeats, and are incredibly agile in flight as they chase down their prey.

This bird flew to a perch, then dove down on the brush pile you see, and actively pounced up and down in an effort to flush the  juncos and sparrows into flight. There was an obvious intelligence at play on the part of the hawk, and it was very neat to observe.  I caught only the last minute or so on video (not great quality), and ultimately the hawk left empty handed – listen to the chickadees doing their alarm call in the background…

Here are a few more Cooper’s hawk stories with photos and videos that we have posted in the past…

http://outdooredguys.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/coopers-hawk/

http://outdooredguys.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/breakfast-at-blair/

http://outdooredguys.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/ground-zero/