Cooper’s Hawk – Page 2 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Cooper’s & Barn Owl

A mixed bag with the weather today being on the cool side with a brief stint of hail for good measure. In spite of this it was pleasant enough with some sunshine in the mix. There is one spot where I watch a Cooper’s Hawk pair each year. About a week ago I only noticed one, but today I managed to see both. I had been watching the female off in a stand of trees when I heard the male calling from a tree behind me.

He had flown in with some prey and was calling to the female. He then delivered the food to the female which is part of the courting behaviour.

He then roosted in a nearby tree,

… while she ate. I did observe some mating behaviour as well, but was not able to photograph it. Looks like the Cooper’s Hawks will be nesting in the area again this year.

On my way back to the car I noticed a crow chasing an owl down into the bottom of some small trees. I sat back and waited,

… and much to my delight a Barn Owl emerged and took flight.

It made a couple of passes while hunting for voles in the field. It has been several years since I last photographed a Barn Owl.

These are also my first flight shots of one, so it was definitely the highlight of the day.

Cooper’s Hawk Nest

While I will come across Cooper’s Hawks in many different locales around here, there is one spot I am familiar with that has a nesting pair. I have observed them off and on at a distance for some time now. Cooper’s Hawks can be very defensive of their nesting area and you have to respect that and any nesting birds for that matter. This particular nest,

… as you can see is not in a good spot for photographing, but I did take this record shot. So while photos are out of the picture, it is still fun to check on once in a while. On heading out to this area again today it looked like the female was feeding young. I stopped briefly,

… and managed this shot. This is a 100% crop given the nest is tucked away well inside the tree. A nice glimpse at a new arrival and then it was time to move on.

Kinglet & Hawks

A brief walk this afternoon took me back to the North 40 Park in the Boundary Bay area. It was a little livelier today with Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-rumped Warblers now present. They just were not going to cooperate and pose for me.