Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk on Nest
 The cooper's hawk is medium sized hawk that is found through much of North America. It is in the Genus Accipiter. Accipiter hawks have proportionally shorter wings and a longer tail then Hawks in the Genus Buteo. Acciptier are built more for maneuverability then for soaring. Most Accipiters are bird hunters. Their short wings let them maneuver through trees and bushes while chasing smaller birds. Their long tail acts like a rudder.
Cooper's Hawk Chick
The Cooper's hawk population here in the Twin Cities has been growing over the past 10 years or so. Last year they were the species that was emitted the most into the clinic at The Raptor Center. The most accepted theory about their increase in population is the increase of people feeding birds at feeders. Bird feeders are like a buffet for the Cooper's Hawk. This food source is especially important during the winter. Most birds do not migrate because of cold. They migrate because of a lack of food during the cold winter. As there are more bird feeders out, there is more food available during the winter. So more song birds stick around instead of heading south. The more song birds that stick around over the winter the more food available to the Cooper's hawk. So more Coops hang around during the winter instead of heading south.   


11 comments:

Roger Owen Green said...

impressive CREATURE!
ROG, ABCW

Karen said...

Sweet fledgling!

Nonnie said...

I love the fluffiness of the chick! quite different from the stern look of the adult. I love gazing at hawks when they seem to drift with the air currents.

Lea said...

Great photos!
Interesting information!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie

lotusleaf said...

very interesting!

Huldra said...

Hawks are majestic creatures. Love the babypicture :)

Reader Wil said...

Awesome! Such a big birds!
Wil, ABCW Team.

Liz Needle said...

A very handsome fellow - and a very cute baby. I wonder whether the migratory instinct might eventually disappear as more generations remain behind rather than fly south?

Kay L. Davies said...

The baby hawk is a great shot, and all that fluffy down makes it look very cute, but I shudder at the thought of bird feeders providing well-fed birds for the hawks. I know, that's nature, but we have a pair of Merlin Falcons nesting (in, as you said below, in another bird's nest) in out neighborhood, and they are the same kind of opportunists. I'd rather hear songbirds than the squawking call of a Merlin.
K

Wally Jones said...

Nice post on a magnificent raptor! Great images!

Linda said...

Love the shot where he's lifting his wings!