Bill, Your squirrel had obviously never been eaten by a Cooper's Hawk. Those that have been eaten look completely different. joe faulkner On Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 12:38 PM, Bill Heck <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Last week, we had a Cooper's Hawk and a Gray Squirrel sitting within about > five feet of each other on the railing of our backyard deck. The squirrel > was munching on some bits of food and seemed to be keeping an eye on the > hawk, but did not appear especially nervous. The hawk watched the squirrel > in what I can only describe as a desultory manner. (Yes, my descriptions of > both animals' behavior are highly anthropomorphic!) What does seem obvious > is that the squirrel did not feel very threatened by the presence of the > hawk. I should note that the hawk appeared by size to be a female; pretty > big for a Cooper's. > > There really was no significant interaction; the squirrel kept eating, the > hawk looked around, and within a few minutes they went their separate ways. > > Bill Heck > > > > > On another note, I saw the most interesting thing that day down the > > street > > > from my house: A Cooper's Hawk had grabbed a Gray Squirrel and had it > > > pinned to the ground. I was able to stop and watch this epic > > struggle. The > > > hawk was not tearing at the squirrel -- just holding it down while it > > > fought back. Finally the hawk tried to lift off with it and couldn't > > -- so > > > dropped back down. After about another minute of looking around, the > > hawk > > > squawked and flew off without the squirrel. At that instant, a Red > > Tail hit > > > the squirrel (I didn't see it until it hit) and rolled it -- but > didn't > > grab > > > it. The squirrel, no doubt wondering if this day could get any worse, > > sort > > > of ran/staggered to some bushes by this house and went up into them. > > > Meanwhile after the missed hit, the Red Tail perched in a Pin Oak > about > > 20 feet > > > from me and the Cooper's flew back into a Crabapple about 75 feet > away, > > > with both watching the bushes. After about 10 more minutes of them > > watching, > > > the Red Tail flew off and then I drove off. Never saw a Coopers try > to > > > grab a full grown Gray Squirrel before -- anyone seen this? I know > they > > > take Chipmunks and probably those small Red Squirrels, but a full > grown > > Gray? > > > > > > Paul Graham > > > Worthington > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > 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] > > > > > > -- > Bill Heck > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > 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]