This Month in the Garden...

Birds assist the gardeners during the summer months by eating insect pests and many gardeners return the favor by setting up bird feeders in their gardens over the winter months. These feeders are popular hunting grounds for young Cooper’s Hawks looking for an easy meal.

Cooper’s Hawks, Accipiter cooperii, are common to woodlands from Canada all the way to Belize in Central America. They fly in a familiar flap, flap, glide pattern and ride thermals looking for the small birds and mammals they eat. Cooper’s Hawks dart through the trees and even run-fly along the ground while hunting. It’s a dangerous way to make a living - according to Cornell University about 23% of the Cooper’s Hawks they’ve studied have signs of previously fractured bones. The hawks seize their prey in their feet and squeeze to dispatch it.

Cooper’s Hawks are monogamous and return to the same nesting location year after year. Nests are built in deciduous trees twenty feet or more from the ground. The hawks can be difficult to identify in the field since they closely resemble Sharp-shinned Hawks which have shorter, notched tails.

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November 2010
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