Coopers Hawk Working Barn Area Hard

[centrarchid]

Location hen takes brood to be protected yet in sun.

American Dominique cock that provides some protection.

Hen not taking brood out to forage. She has food and water near cover. She does not have harem arrangement where harem master would help fend of hawk. If she did take brood out she would start loosing chicks. Cover not as good now as during summer.

 

[centrarchid]

I am getting a better handle on what songbirds are doing now. Blue Jays are coming up in a group several times each day to collect seed from locust and oaks trees for caching in woods to south. Several other species also out and rapidly exhausting fruit in hedges rows. Insect forages also reduced. All birds hunker down in bush when hawk comes in. Hawk tries to catch songbirds either by surprise or out in the opening. Songbirds seem to be talking across species when hawk comes in. Even dogs pickup on that chatter. When hawk is perched in barn, songbirds are quite.

 

[Folly's place]

Follow up on my hawk/ blue jay story; It was a red tailed hawk. Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Follow up on my hawk/ blue jay story;  It was a red tailed hawk.  Mary

Still not typical, nor implausible.

 

[centrarchid]

Lost a chick while shopping today. Presumably to Coopers. Hawk just flying about randomly as if not hunting.

Chick lost was dinged up and lost when we left. Dinged up from battle royal yesterday.


Anything that gets you away from mama when Coopers is around is very bad. Hens fighting and disruptions caused by stags / cockerels can all cause separation.

 

[Folly's place]

Most of my losses to hawks have been juvenile bantam cockerels; young and dumb, and too brave. Some lost birds have been standard pullets, but not many. Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Losses in this setting not random. Hen with brood released yesterday morning and out all day today. I just penned her back up. Potential for more losses if brood was not let out yesterday.


During same interval plus three weeks; four point of lay pullets, two hens, three cockerels and two cocks were unscathed even when out with hawk. All 4 lbs or better. Clearly selectivity involved.

 

[centrarchid]

Both pens below need work to stop Coopers Hawk. Not same as tracked here previously. Top three images of pen where hawk getting in through areas not covered by poultry wire. Same gaps too small for juvenile chickens in pen. Hawk clambered up sides of pen dragging kill several times and attempted to pull kill though but could not get job done. Blood evidence for that. Hawk and remaining chicks then consumed most of the carcass. Chicks consumed more than the hawk. Lower image of pen where hawk pulled kills up and out. Juveniles lost weighed more than hawk. Hawk flew with those into poplars behind barn to consume them. Better phrase is dragged them.

Young of year male Coopers hawk caught. He has been working pens for last several days. He came in after female (also young year and observed in posts above) left after working area for almost three weeks. She caused no problems but this little dude could actually fit through the 2 x 4 welded wire. His problem was he would not do it with me close by and then when he left one pen he promptly flew into another where a party very much wanted to kick his butt. She would have killed if I did not intervene. She had it down for at most 20 seconds. She ran it down, grabbed its tail, then flogged it until I could conduct a snatch an grab myself. I had no intention of harming hawk; those days long past for me. Effort will be doing a little more chick pen editing.

Hawk released immediately after photographs taken.

 

[memphis]

WOW! Would have loved to see a pic of her kicking butt! Love the expression on hawks face. His day took a bad turn!

 

[centrarchid]

I just went out on porch to check on barn and heard chickens do the low muffled cackle indicating a disturbance. Lucy was already stalking half way there. I shined my spotline to see a large Great-horned Owl perched on very same pen I found hawk in this morning. I then penned up the following; 1 game hen with 9 chicks, 1 game hen, 3 x 6-lb Missouri Dominique pullets, and one close to 7-lb Missouri Dominique cockerel. Left out where two dom cocks, another hen and two stags. All but one dom cock roosting over deer netting which should protect them as owls seem to avoid that stuff like the plague. Soon I will but putting up deer netting on sides of barn to keep them darn owls out. That alone will not get them to leave as the place crawls with rabbits.