I too had a Cooper's being pursued - today. The pursuers were barn swallows! For a while, the Cooper's hawks were making themselves scarce around here. Now I've seen three in two days. I think the juveniles are "on the prowl", and anything can happen! I've seen some pretty amusing Cooper's run-ins (like the one that followed a squawking fully grown chicken all the way to the hen house), and of course some not so amusing. Margaret Licking Co., OH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Whan" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2010 9:16 AM Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Saturday July 10 > Paul's amusing observation could probably be duplicated every day > if > everyone were paying attention as well as he...well, maybe not the > hummingbird part. The other day a soaking-wet young female Cooper's was > perched on a wire behind my house, and I counted 23 smaller > birds--sparrows, finches, even a couple of rock pigeons--perched at > distances as close as fifteen feet on wires, all excitedly vocalizing or > at least looking on as if jeering. Must have been humiliating for the > young hawk. > Cooper's hawks are often the most often observed raptor in many > towns > and cities these days, but were not always part of the urban scene. A > hundred years ago they, and red-tailed hawks, were rural birds, called > "chicken-hawks" because of their predations on farm poultry. Wildlife > officials passed out free boxes of shotgun shells in huge numbers in > hopes of eradicating them and other predators. > They and other rural birds (some red-tailed and red-shouldered > hawks, > even crows) have moved closer to and into cities over recent decades, > fleeing (or maybe just surviving from) such persecutions, and benefiting > from ordinances forbidding shooting and perhaps warmer urban winter > temperatures, not to mention feeders. I wish Cooper's hawks would > specialize on house sparrows, but house sparrow flocks are quick and > markedly skittish, and it is usually native birds that suffer from > attacks on feeders. Cooper's do relish, and often catch, rock pigeons, > whose plucked skeletons I regularly uncover when I rake leaves. > P. S. See some posts under the rubric "Silent Spring" on BirdChat over > the last few days for a novel look at the Gulf oil spill: > http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CHAT.html > Bill Whan > Columbus > > Paul Graham wrote: >> Saw something interesting Saturday afternoon: I heard a bunch of Blue >> Jays raising a ruckus -- I figured it was a cat that's been hanging out >> so I >> went out back to scare it off. Pretty soon I saw a small group of jays >> (maybe 5) chasing a Cooper's Hawk across my yard into the neighbor's >> yard. I >> stayed out there because the ruckus wasn't quieting any; it was actually >> getting louder and wilder -- so I waited to see what was going on. >> After a >> couple minutes the Cooper's came rocketing out of the trees about 15 >> feet >> off the ground with the jays in pursuit but quickly being left behind. >> It >> was all pretty close to me and it didn't look like the hawk was carrying >> anything. Then I noticed that right on the Cooper's flank -- >> literally -- was >> a hummingbird. The scene, though happening fast, was very clear. It >> looked like a little fighter plane right on the tail of a bomber! >> Thought >> this list would get a kick out that visual. I don't expect I'll ever >> get to >> see something like that again. >> >> Paul Graham >> Worthington >> Franklin Co. > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]