Another cold day as our bird feeder continues to be the gathering place for our feathered friends: juncos, chicadees, sparrows, tufted titmice, woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays.
Cardinal and Chicadee
Red-bellied Woodpecker and Junco
Cardinal
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Suddenly all the birds flew up and scattered in every direction. A brown shape landed on our yellow magnolia tree. It was a Cooper’s Hawk. This was the first time I have been able to take photos of this bird of prey.
Cooper’s Hawk looking at bird feeder
Cooper’s Hawk, very intense
Cooper’s Hawk
The hawk stayed perched on a magnolia branch, gazing intently at the bird feeder, but all the medium and small birds had flown into hiding. After a couple of minutes, it gave up and flew back into the sky. It wasn’t until about half an hour later that our usual contingent of birds returned to our backyard.
neihtn 
Beautiful captures. Hawks have been keeping the birds away from my feeders.
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Now that you mention it, some days we don’t have any bird visitors at our feeder. Not often, but once in a while. Maybe the hawk(s) scared them like you said.
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well captured
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Thanks, Diana!
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While I love to see the hawks, I hate to see them in my yard checking out all the little visitors! I’ve trained my dog to chase the squirrel away from the feeder when she sees them there…I need to teach her about hawks next! 🙂 Glad you got the opportunity to capture him and there were no fatalities.
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That would be nice, when your dog can chase hawks away. Note that I did not say if. 🙂
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You may very well have a Sharp-shinned Hawk there. These two are very difficult to tell apart–I’m not very good at it. But the Cooper’s Hawk will have a lighter area in the nape of the neck, and this bird’s neck looks about the same color as the top of the head. Of course, I could easily be wrong, but it’s very common to mix up these two hawks. Great photo!
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You may be right. But this hawk seems to have a rounded tail, and not a square tail like a Sharp-shinned hawk. Also in the last two photos, the nape of its necks appears to be a little bit lighter than its head. However, I am not an expert so I am not sure what to call it. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
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Nervous and shy, it’s tough to get a decent photo of a Cooper’s Hawk. Well done!
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Thanks John. The hawk probably did not see me as I was inside the house, behind a glass door.
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TOTALLY WONDERFUL, Hien !!!!
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Thanks M-R!
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You almost got pictures of the hunt Hien 😉
I’m sure the hawk will be back, he has a very determined look in his eyes…
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You are right, it will be back. I have seen them flying above our tree tops many times. Thanks for stopping by.
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Beautiful birds. Love the hawk. So does the hawk dine on smaller birds?
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These hawks dine on birds, with the females, which are bigger than males, specializing in medium sized birds like doves.
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