Nature News
Guess Who's Been Coming to Dinner
by Denise Hatfield
WBU Certified Birdfeeding SpecialistHave you recently looked at your full bird feeders and not seen a single bird? Have you seen a flurry of scared birds and a flash of gray or brown flying away quickly? Have you ever had birds crash into your glass windows? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a Cooper’s hawk in your neighborhood. Cooper’s hawks are seen more often at backyard bird feeders in the winter where hunting might be a little easier.
These medium size predatory hawks are agile, aggressive and capable of rapid acceleration for catching small birds up to the size of mourning doves. Adult Cooper’s hawks are about 16” long. Their back is a blue-gray with a buff chest that has reddish brown horizontal barring. Their eyes range from gold to orange to red. The tail has rounded corners and pronounced darker striping.
A juvenile can be identified by the stripes or “noodles” of brown going vertically down the cream colored chest. The rest of his body is mainly brown. Their eyes are light green or gray. Juveniles may also look like they are having a “bad hair day” as their head feathers sometimes look a bit ruffled. These immature juveniles will molt to their adult plumage during their 2nd summer.
Recently, I watched an immature Cooper’s hawk (pictured left) perch on a brush pile in my yard for about 30 minutes waiting for one of the little sparrows to fly in or fly out. I watched him cocking his head this way and that, as he listened and watched for the birds, but couldn’t seem to get them to come out. On events where he has had a successful hunt, he will take his catch and perch on a nearby branch. Then he systematically plucks the feathers and consumes the entire bird.
Unfortunately, the Cooper’s hawk is not selective when catching something for dinner, and has been known to get a cardinal, goldfinch or bluebird. Therefore many birdwatchers would like to discourage hawks to protect their wild birds. If a Cooper’s hawk should come to your feeders, it’s because they are an easy food source. Especially during the colder months, the less energy he has to exert to get a meal, the better for his metabolism.
About the only way to eliminate a hawk from your feeders is to eliminate the food source, which usually means removing your feeders for a few days to encourage him to find other food opportunities. However, this is not such a good solution either, as it puts your songbirds in jeopardy by removing one of their food sources they depend on.
While it can be difficult to witness one of your favorite songbirds become a meal, remember this is just part of the natural food chain. The hawk is typically catching those birds with slower reaction time and speed which are not positive traits to breed into the next generation. This is Mother Nature’s way of keeping the species strong for you to continue to enjoy. On a positive note, the Cooper’s hawk will only be successful about 1 out of 8 attempts to catch his prey.
Wild Birds Unlimited sales associates are always ready to help you with any hawk identification or other questions. We have a good selection of bird identification books, CDs and videos. Plus, a good pair of binoculars can help you accurately identify whose coming to dinner. We look forward to seeing you during your next visit.