Cooper's Hawk: "Out in the Open"

Uhh, guys? There's a Cooper's Hawk right there!

(Cooper’s Hawk - photo by Neil Barker)

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Out in the open for all to see, searching and unafraid.

Remembering what you were taught by those who came before you.

You watch, listen and wait for the perfect opportunity.

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I took this photo in late-August 2023. I remember almost walking past this Cooper’s Hawk that was perched on a fence. I’d heard a male American Goldfinch in a nearby tree making alarm calls and that caused me to stop and look around. Hat-tip to that goldfinch for letting me know about the hawk.

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Sijo Notes: In this sijo, I tried to capture the feeling of this Cooper’s Hawk I saw perched boldy out in the open on this fence. This hawk may have been a juvenile and was still trying to figure out how to best catch its next meal.

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Nature Notes:

Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone.

Cooper’s Hawk: Cool Facts (AllAboutBird.org)

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