A couple months ago I noticed signs of a Cooper’s Hawk nest on the far wooded hillside above Coyote Canyon—whose trail I hike most days with dog. In the past week or so I’ve seen a lot of Cooper’s Hawks.
Today I saw two, each with prey in its talons. The first was a small sleek adult (a male, I feel sure) was perched in the open, fending off a brave attack by two tiny gnatcatchers. The second (a few minutes later) was a big female in the trees, whose occasional calls sounded a lot like a sapsucker.
[Note: I’ve edited yesterday’s “sapsucker” mention—I’m sure it was the same bird.]
I’ve lately seen at least one juvie Cooper’s circling. I’m sure the young ’uns have fledged. The adults’ behavior interests me. (Did the male bring the female the bird he caught? If so, why?) Most notable, today, was the difference in size of the adults: the female (as is not uncommon hawk circles) was nearly twice the size as the male.
It seems, at least, there are plenty of smaller birds about to feed the family.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Rock Pigeon
2. Black-chinned Hummingbird
3. House Finch*
4. Lazuli Bunting
5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
6. Pine Siskin (v)
7. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
8. Spotted Towhee
9. Black-headed Grosbeak
10. Mourning Dove*
11. Black-capped Chickadee**
12. American Robin*
13. Cooper’s Hawk
14. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
15. Warbling Vireo
16. Northern Flicker
17. Lesser Goldfinch
Elsewhere
18. Black-billed Magpie
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, black-headed grosbeak, blue-gray gnacatcher, cooper's hawk, house finch, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, northern flicker, pine siskin, red-breasted nuthatch, rock pigeon, spotted towhee, warbling vireo, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
