Four times over the last couple of weeks, we have had a Cooper's Hawk land on the branches of the tree in the backyard. Not unusual, you say. And you are correct. After all, the saying about bird feeders is that when you feed the birds, you feed ALL the birds. However, this particular hawk comes in, and lands on the branch that the feeder hangs from, and steps along it until he is directly over the feeder. He then sits and looks around, as though puzzled as to where all the little birds have gone. Because by the time he's settled in, there's not a single junco, finch, chickadee or towhee to be seen in my yard.
I showed the pictures to a Master Birder friend of mine, and she was puzzled by his cluelessness as he apparently looks to be a two year old. Which means he must have learned to hunt at some point. Or maybe he's just a suburban hawk and cruises from feeder to feeder until he finds some small clueless bird too dumb to hide when a big hawk crashes into the tree branch right above. He did take off at an angle that let him use the roof as a shield so perhaps he got his lunch on the way out...
He certainly is a very pretty hawk, however, so I will just settle for enjoying his visits.
