In late April 2014, a neighbor mentioned a pair of Cooper's Hawks that are
nesting near their house and have been decimating the small bird population.
Here's some pictures (in rough chronological order) starting with the adults ... be sure to
scroll down to see the three Hawlets grow and fledge!!!
Here's the three Hawklets on July 3rd - pretty darn cute! ;-)
Actual pixel crops of their faces ... the adult's eyes are red
July 8th: Hawklet caught in flight - mouseover image to see in motion
July 16th: All three hawklets on a neighbor's Pergola - a photographer's dream! ;-)
Just one of many very cool pictures from that day - scroll down to see more!
Here's the very first sighting/picture of the Cooper's Hawk. My wife and I
I walked over to look at the nest, but didn't see any action there, but eagle-eyed Wendy spotted the
adult in a nearby willow tree. Due to the Spring growth, it is a real challenge to get a clear view of the hawk.
April 26: Neither Wendy or myself noticed the Cooper's Hawk had "dinner" with 'em! ;-)
Anyone want some KFC tonight - Original, BBQ, Extra Crispy ... or Fresh?!? ;-)
Here's the full-frame image showing how much foilage was in the way
Another closeup showing of the Cooper's Hawk with "dinner"
The Cooper's Hawk then flew to another tree ... that had even more foilage!
But he poked his head out a few times between all the branches and leaves
May 5th: Can't see any hawklets, but adult is on the nest - mouseover image to see closeup
May 12th: This adult is perched 4 trees away from the nest
Very tough sight lines - mouseover image to see another angle
Here's a little better sight line - mouseover image to see the head turn
Shooting from right below - mouseover to see head move
May 12th: Meanwhile, here is the nest with presumably Mom incubating the egg(s)
May 25th: Mom even more obscured by additional greenery but still incubating the egg(s)
I was out of town for several weeks ... so real curious what I would see upon returning
June 20th: Mom perched on nest - still no sign of chicks
June 21st: Mom still on nest - no signs of any chicks
June 23rd: So I first look at the nest from the side - mouseover to see closeup - we got chicks!
Definitely some white fluffy action going on there!
So then I move to the "front" of the nest - mouseover image to see closeup
Mom hanging out with a fluffy white Cooper's Hawk Chick! ;-)
Mouseover image to see Mom and Baby Cooper's Hawk just chill'in
Cooper's Hawk chick pooping over the side of the nest - mouseover to see ... "action" ;-)
The nest is about 50' above all this poop on the road underneath the tree
June 29th: Cooper's Hawk chick is losing the white fluffiness - mouseover to see profile
June 30th: There are THREE Cooper's Hawk chicks!!!
Mouseover image to see this chick flap his wings!
July 3rd: Here's the three Hawklets - pretty darn cute! ;-)
Actual pixel crops of their faces ... the adult's eyes are red
My friend Chuck was nice enough to let me borrow his 1DX and 200-400 lens
Makes my 7D and 70-200 + 2xTC look puny - everyone loves checking out the view
July 4th: Two Cooper's Hawk chicks pose for the Canon 1DX and 200-400 lens
July 5th: First time I've seen one of the hawklets out of the nest - fledging soon!
July 5th: Twilight shot with on-camera flash - another songbird for dinner?!?
July 6th: The first Hawklet is out of the nest - we have a fledg'er!
He (or she?!?) has a nice perch - mouseover image to see another image
Closeup of the Cooper's Hawk's Talons ... those are RAZOR SHARP!!!
The other two hawklets still in the nest don't look so happy
I brought more gear that evening. Tripod mounted Canon 7D with 70-200/2.8 plus 2xTC.
And I brought my own "light" to the party with some 580EX flashes and Better Beemer
And yea, that's a wireless remote to trigger the camera while I watch the birds.
Twilight shot using off-camera flash
All three Hawklets ... including one spreading its wings out of the nest
After the Adult "dropped" off dinner (literally), it came back for the scraps
Can you identify what was for "dinner" from the picture below!
"HEY, you taking a picture of my back-side?!?" ;-)
July 8th: Hawklet caught in flight - mouseover image to see in motion
Adult Cooper's Hawk brings a late night snack to the nest - mouseover to see wide-angle
July 16th: Adult Cooper's Hawk takes flight from CottonWood Tree
July 16th: So the neighbor who originally spotted the Cooper's Hawk called me and said all three hawklets are hanging out on their pergola on the back of their house ... and the view from their upstairs bedrooms is great. I figure they'll probably be gone by time I get there ... but what the heck, lets grab my camera gear and wander over there - am I glad I did!
Here's the first thing I saw as I walked upstairs - WOW!
We are able to gently crack a window open and then I was set! ;-)
All three hawklets stayed for an hour - they hardly seemed to notice me 30' away
I took over 500 pictures - it was a real challenge whittling 'em down to just the images below
Holy Crap was this a bird photographer's dream!!!
I added a little off-camera flash to add just a bit of light on 'em
The one hawklet liked to lay down on the pergola
If you are into bird photography, it doesn't get much better than this!
Nice wing spread - mouseover image to see without
July 22nd: Juvenile Cooper's Hawk hanging out on the Pergola Support Beams
While Cooper's Hawks mostly eat other birds, I bet a squirrel (in my cherry tree) would be tasty
