Cooper's Hawk.

[Catmendo]

Cooper's Hawk on the prowl. If the truth be told they're not on my top ten favorite bird's list. Why? Simply because they make their living hunting song birds. As I continued to sit quietly observe this hawk, it eventually exploded off it's perch bolting for the ground in a failed attempt to kill a marsh wren. The wren simply survived out of sheer luck by having a small 3 foot high shrub and some tall broam grass to hide in. I sat there and watched as the hawk was trying to figure out how to get the wren in the air. After about 30 seconds the hawk and no success it abandoned it's potential meal and flew off. Within seconds the little wren came out from it's cover and flew off, safe for the time being.

Cooper attempting to flush out it's intended prey.

[micpic]

Stu, I really like your Raptor images, you must have a good knowledge as to where to capture your subjects.

I also had a hard time watching attack birds taking song birds but ended up learning that it's just the food chain. I was ready to put an end to a Northern Shrike who was making easy meals next to my feeders but then learned to appreciate the agility and cleverness of the bird. I'm sure certain mammals do more damage to birds than themself's.

Mic

[Catmendo]

I totally agree with you Mic! As much as I hate to see small beautiful little creatures like song birds being killed by larger and much more aggressive predators, I do accept that it is a part of rules nature has set out for all creatures. If there is one animal (a mammal) I have grown to despise it is the "domestic" feline! "Natural born killers" is the only way to describe the house cat. According to one statistic that I read some years ago, the average house cat if left to roam alone in the outdoors, averages 1000 kills in a single year. It's victims are mostly mice with maybe some insect varieties thrown in. However lets not kid ourselves, domestic cats are responsible for killing an unprecedented amount o songbirds in the course of a calender year! Between habitat loss, migration mortality (birds killed by flying into windows or being killed by automobiles) and last but not least "felines", it's a small wonder why so many songbird species are in decline. For those who want to partiscipate in assisting with songbird survival and you are a cat owner, please keep your kitty indoors and not left to roam freely outdoors so they can do what they do best.

Sorry if I ranted...

I forgot to mention Mic that I am very familar with my regions habitat, therefore I do know where to locate numerous hawk species. I should also point out that in the case of this Cooper's hawk, two nesting adults have chosen the golf course where I have membership, to raise their off-spring. This makes an ideal arrangement for some great photo opps. Living on the edge of the North American great Plains also makes an ideal setting to locate a large variety of raptors.