This Cooper’s Hawk, although a bird of prey, is a handsome bird and a delight to see. Photography by Tina Schmitt, Los Lunas, NM
All hawks are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which strictly prohibits the capture, killing, or possession of hawks without a special permit. They are definitely not “game” birds. They are birds of prey but they play an important role in nature, although many of them are still the unintended victims of the progress of man.
Hawks, when they are flying, often strike the wires along the roadside and others die after eating animals that have been poisoned (in an attempt to control their numbers). One of the greatest threats to hawks is the plate-glass window. Because they are used to woodlands, they are completely oblivious to reflective surfaces. In their minds, when they see a window, they are seeing whatever is reflected outward, regardless of whether it’s a tree, a building, or another bird. Their expectation is that they can fly right through it. Many of them are killed and the ones that survive are usually badly injured.
Once a Cooper’s Hawk spots what it perceives to be its next meal, it becomes focused and determined. Photography by Tina Schmitt
Their Habitat
A Cooper’s Hawk is part of a group called accipiters, which are long-tailed raptors with rounded wings. It is those characteristics white enable them to maneuver swiftly and masterfully through dense vegetation. Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) are native to the North American continent and found from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico.
We feed a lot of birds here in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and hawks are frequent visitors to our backyard. We keep lots of dense cover planted close by for the small birds so they are able to make quick getaways when hawks are in the area. Our Leyland cypress tree has rescued many birds from the clutches of a Cooper’s Hawk’s impressive talons.Although these birds do migrate, only the residents up North are usually aware that of their absence, as most of the ones down South are replaced by the ones migrating from the North.
Cooper’s Hawks are quite stealthy, so if you want to see one, you are simply going to have to keep your eyes peeled. They are often overlooked in flight because they are somewhat smaller than other hawks. Be on the lookout for their flight pattern, which is flap-flap-glide (rapid wing-beats alternating with brief glides), along with their remarkably long tail.
Their Appearance
The constantly-moving eyes of an adult Cooper’s Hawk are red. The adult hawks have solid gray chests barred (speckled) with reddish-brown spots. Their long tales, rounded at the ends, are barred gray and black with a white band at the tip. Immature hawks have yellow eyes, with brown across their backs and brown streaks across a white chest.
The eyes of Cooper’s Hawks, common with most predatory birds, face forward, affording them good depth perception when hunting and catching their prey at high speeds. Their hooked bill allows them to tear the flesh of their prey. During their flight, these hawks will display a long, barred tail and short, rounded wings. They beat their wings very quickly enabling them to maneuver heavily wooded areas in search of their next meal.
Cooper’s Hawk Appearance Similar to a Sharp-Shinned Hawk A Cooper’s Hawk has short, rounded wings set farther back on its body than those of a much similar-looking Sharp-Shinned hawk. Also, their heads are larger and their gray caps are darker and more prominent than those of the Sharp-Shinned hawk.
Usually, in the fall, the white tip of the tail of the Cooper’s Hawk is wider than that of the Sharp-Shinned hawk, although experts admit that they have trouble distinguishing between these two hawk species.
There are bird experts who cannot distinguish a Sharp-Shinned Hawk from a Cooper’s Hawk, although a Cooper’s Hawk is larger, more powerful and able to take down larger prey. Photography by Tina Schmitt
Their Meals of Choice
Cooper’s Hawks love to make a meal of a large number of birds, including robins, jays and juncos although I witnessed one recently claim a large Eurasian black-collared dove right out of our backyard. When the hawk struck the dove, it was hit so hard that there were dozens of feathers flying about, knocked completely off the prey. They are also known to eat squirrels, lizards, mice and some larger insects.
According to some studies, most of their prey is made up of young birds and mammals that are less likely to have developed escape skills. Often seen soaring across the skies, most of their hunting is planned along specific routes (like our backyard). They are often seen sitting on nearby perches waiting for their unsuspecting prey to land in an open area.The most impressive escape from a Cooper’s Hawk that I have witnessed was performed by a Woodhouse scrub jay in our yard. He was eating beneath a locust tree as the hawk dove down toward him after being perched on our back brick wall. In a split second, the jay flew straight upward into the heart of the locust tree and hid behind part of the trunk. The hawk looked around, but couldn’t see the jay, so he returned to his perch. The jay never moved at all in the tree and after about 10 minutes, the hawk left the area…without his planned lunch.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the jay in the tree and was certain he would eventually fly out only to be picked up by the talons of the hawk, but luckily it didn’t happen. The Woodhouse scrub jay is a regular visitor to our yard and we would hate to lose him.
This Cooper’s hawk tried very hard one day to catch one of our sparrows, but failed and had to go elsewhere to catch his meal. We have a Leyland cypress tree out back that has saved many birds from the clutches of a hawk. Photography by Michael McKenney
Breeding
Many Cooper’s Hawks migrate northward to breed. They are monogamous and many pairs will mate for life. The pairs breed once a year and raise one brood during that time. The choice of the nesting site is up to the male, but the female is the actual nest-builder.
During their courtship, there are flight patterns that display the wings held in the shape of a deep arc. Often, the male will fly around the female hawk displaying his under-tail feathers to her. The male will raise his wings above his back and fly with a slow, rhythmic flapping. Usually, the mating flights will occur on bright, sunny days during mid-morning, beginning with both birds soaring high in the air as it warms and rises.
Courtship flights are common, and both the male and female participate. The male will usually dive toward the female, following with a very slow chase. Both birds, alternating with glides, will move about with slow and exaggerated beats of their wings.Because they are territorial birds of prey, they will fiercely defend the territory around their nests.
The breeding season for a Cooper’s Hawk begins early in the spring when they begin building their nest out of sticks and twigs (lined with bark, down and/or conifer needles). Usually, the female will lay from 3-6 eggs that are blue to greenish/white and spotted. The female is responsible for incubating while the male provides food for her.
Cooper’s Hawks belong to a group of birds whose eggs mostly hatch during week five. Once the eggs hatch, both parents are responsible for the care of the young fledglings that will leave the nest after about a month (whenever they learn to fly). The young birds are supplied food by their parents until they learn to feed themselves.Almost all Cooper’s Hawks will not breed until they are about two years old or older.
This photograph shows a female Cooper’s Hawk incubating her four eggs. While she handles the incubation, her mate brings her food. The eggs will hatch after about five weeks. Photography by Tom Muir
