It was a cold day. The activity at my feeders was frenetic, with fluttering finches, cardinals, sparrows, doves. Then — flash — the big bird swooped in, and the others scattered. The young Cooper's hawk sat on my forsythia with a quizzical expression. How did they get away?
Old-timers may know the Cooper's by another name, chicken hawk. It belongs to a group of hawks called Accipiters (ax-ip-i-ters). For songbirds, they are the bad guys of the skies. They are unpopular among bird watchers and chicken farmers because they prey primarily on other birds.
Accipiters are hawks of the forest. With short, rounded wings and long tails, they maneuver quickly among the trees and dive into dense cover after prey. The Cooper's hawk has two close cousins in North America, the smaller sharp-shinned hawk and the larger Northern Goshawk.
Our other hawks, such as the red-tailed and red-shouldered, belong to the genus Buteo (byeu-ti-o). They are chunkier, have longer wings and fare better when they find their prey in the open. Birds are a part of their diet, but these hawks prefer a chipmunk or rabbit anytime.
The Cooper's hawk is a year-round resident and a common visitor to our wooded suburban lots. They have increased in numbers since the pesticide DDT was banned. The fragmentation of our forests isn't a problem for them because they have discovered that people have bird feeders in their yards. They are stealth birds, often perching in dense cover and flying low to the ground to strike by surprise. Doves are a favored food, but other medium-size songbirds such as cardinals and robins are particularly vulnerable.
Adults are gray above, with rusty horizontal barring below, a dark cap and a long, striped tail that is rounded at the end. Immature birds are brown above, with brown vertical chest streaks. Females are noticeably larger than males, which can pose a danger to the latter. The males are submissive, waiting for a female's call to approach. Males build stick nests, usually high up in sturdy trees. In recent years, Miller Park and Bethabara City Park have been popular nest sites.
The sharp-shinned hawk, or "sharpie," nests up north and in the Appalachians but winters in the Piedmont. But locally, their numbers have declined. Breeding surveys indicate the species is doing well, but fewer birds may be migrating south. Maybe they are less adaptable to forest fragmentation than Cooper's hawks, or perhaps northern feeders meet their needs. Still, go to Cape May, N.J., in the fall and you can see several thousand pass by.
Cooper's or sharpie? Even experienced birders have difficulty distinguishing them. The colors are almost identical, and the male Cooper's and female sharp-shinned are close in size. But look closely at the tail. The sharpie's is shorter and squared off. In flight, look for the Cooper's larger head, straighter leading edge of the wings and stronger flap-flap-glide motion. Also, the sharpie lacks the dark cap. Northern Goshawks are much bigger, but don't expect to see one here.
Many bird-watchers get upset when a Cooper's or sharpie terrorizes "their" birds. Remember, though, this predator-prey relationship is natural. If anything, we help predators by putting up the feeders. If attacks persist, remove the feeders for awhile.
Cooper's hawks regularly visit Archie Elledge Water Treatment Plant on Griffith Road, the site of Audubon's March 12 bird walk. Check in at the gate. Meet at 9 a.m. by the office. Carol Cunningham will lead the walk; you can reach Cunningham at cc78900@bellsouth.net.
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