Coopers Hawks Fledging Here

[centrarchid]

Moments ago I heard songbirds to the north giving warning calls for hawk and then saw Barn Swallows stooping at something approaching but obstructed from view by a stand of Smooth Sumac. I was positioned myself to see who was flying through and spied an adult female Coopers come within 20' of me before she realized I was tracking her. She made a quick adjustment and landed in one of our oak trees. The game roosters were giving alarm calls and doing their best to move out into open to display at hawk. Game hens and everyone else drifted towards cover. Hawk stayed for about a minute before flying to next perch out of sight and further south. Mother is hunting because kids are out of nest needing more eats than dad can readily get on his own. With mother out, small juvenile chickens will now be vulnerable to Coopers Hawks. Over last few weeks only chicks were at risk and that was only if the hen was not present.

 

[GreatGranny]

We have a pair of Coopers that have built a nest in a giant pine tree just above our chicken coop... We watch and listen daily because now there is a young one they are both feeding.

We have geese and chickens and have reinforced the cover on our run but our geese free rage during the day and because they are still young ones, it often worries me that the Hawks could do some damage to them. These beautiful Hawks are huge!

There is an abundance of field mice from the farm across the road and small squirrels that were born earlier this year on our property so the Hawks have not taken an interest in our fowl population as of yet. I hope they continue to hunt elsewhere because we love to watch them perched in the huge trees in our front yard, and they do low passes in front of us which is very exciting to watch! They are such beautiful birds!