I have one that passes through my yard snatching my birds
up and making off with them, leaving behind their little feathers scattered about.
I'll UPS him to you, if you'd like.

I'd like it if he would make his meals on mice,squirrels
and the like and leave my songbirds alone.

I saw an Evening Grosbeak on my birbath this morning
and the Warblers are passing through so migration has
started. I've gone from flocks of Hummingbirds to one or two daily.

Every day I see a little Groundhog scurrying about and there
are three Deer coming every day to munch on the stuff
beneath one of the bird feeders. The wild turkeys can be
seen crossing the drive almost daily. I'll never get used to seeing wild critters around here. It makes life interesting.

I hope your hawk comes back frequently so you can see him
in action, they are VERY fast when they come in for the kill.

Our den has very large windows and birds fly into them all the time and often leave a mark. The other day it was a hawk and the outline of its wings on the glass is awesome. DH thinks it was a Cooper---it wasn't hurt and zoomed away--but we also have a red-tailed in the neighborhood, so who knows.

They are gorgeous birds and so fierce looking. I wouldn't want to be the mouse or squirrel that attracted their attention. And they can have all the pigeons they want--we are loaded with them.

I hate to tell ya...but a cooper's will have to be very very hungry to try to take a squirrel. Squirrels are too big and can turn and bite the leg off of a cooper's hawk...so they stay away from actually attacking a squirrel. But they will take mice and voles.
Their main diet though is song birds...and are fearsome to watch dodging and wheeling through the brush in persuit of a sparrow ( I don't want to think about one killing a cardinal!!)
To catch your squirrels, you need great horned owls. There was a nest in the neighborhood ( albiet about 3 bolcks away) and the bunny and squirrel population was noticeably lower. takes a lot of critters to feed those growing babies!
Interesting though, because i haven't seen a coopers or a sharpie in my yard since maybe March...
Linda C

We have one that antagonizes our aviary birds every few weeks. We go out and chase him off and sometimes have to put the night cover down to discourage him.

Is a squirrel really going to turn and bite a hawk after the hawk has winded it and pierced it with its talons? Maybe the idea is they often miscue and don't hit the larger prey just right.

Maybe the eat small squirrels like Douglas' and young gray or fox squirrels but not adults.

Another thing that makes me wonder is how the nocturnal owls were able to knock down the numbers of the diurnal squirrels. Hunting during the day?

Here is a link that might be useful: coopers hawk diet - Google Search

Coopers Hawk is a very common species in my area, and I am near Tibs. They are wonderfully adept predators, and the females especially do have the size to take a squirrel, and wouldn't think twice doing it. They don't carry their prey away in their talons, they spread their wings and assume a position of guarding their capture and rip it apart and eat it right where they nab it.

They work very hard at surviving and their desperation is often evident mid winter when they make their rounds to all their hunting spots. They are patient and work the same spot for long periods and will even tangle themselves up in vines to go after hiding prey. There aren't too many creatures up to their size they'd be intimidated by, considering their strength and weapons. A squirrel would not be much of a match for one.

There are those who would argue that coopers hawks take a squirrel very often.
But a couple of years ago an owl took a squirrel out of it's nest in the big tree just off my deck. I heard an awful screaming noise and a deluge of dead leaves on to the roof, and saw something land on the garage roof and then disappear. It was so loud and continued for about 20 seconds that my neighbor from 2 doors away came running over. It was late summer/early fall, after dark. Our county wildlife officer said that it was likely a great horned owl raiding a squirrel's nest, and I know there was one in that tree.
Last night about 8:30 I heard 2 owls calling. Sounded very much like the mating call they do in late winter. I thought at first ther were great horned owls because we have had nests in the area for several years, but I heard that typical barking noise of the barred owl...
Whatever they were, I amused my self ( I know, it was not nice) by "talking" with them for a few minutes.
Reminds me, I haven't seen a kestrel in several years, they used to hang out under the feeders, presumably looking for mice, but I would have thought they were too small to take one.
Linda C

Yes, and there are those who just like to argue. Squirrels are a modest but very regular item in a Cooper's diet. It has nothing to do with fear of a squirrel but geographical area and preference. An adult female Cooper can attain a wingspan of over a yard. They've been known to kill six feet rat snakes and possum has been found in their guts on necropsy. If you think a squirrel is fierce, p.o. a possum.

Ive never seen an adult Coopers pay any attention to the 100000000000000000000000000000 squirrels that live in my backyard but ive noticed the young 1st year fledglings will try once in a great while much to the irritation and amusement of the squirrels. I watched a young one last night catch and devour 2 mice. The older ones usually prey on English sparrow who also number in the 1000000000000000000000000000000's in my yard.

A cooper's hawk can only carry prey about 1/2 it's weight. It would be unlikely a 6 foot snake would only weigh about 3/4 of a pound, I have, however seen a red tail with a snake in it's mouth several times, but not a 6 foot long one.
The squirrels in my yard don't seem to be frightened of a coopers or a sharpie at all, they feed on the ground while the hawk sits on top of the feeder wondering where lunch went. But once I saw a hark land on the fence and a squirrel see it land and jump straight up in the air and run for the bushes! LOL!
Perhaps what you are seeing is a red tail a much bigger bird, with a wing span over a yard capable of carrying a squirrel or even a small possum.
Linda C

Maybe what I thought was a Coopers Hawk was a Red tail. I looked at more bird sites on the web and really cannot say for sure. It did not have a red tail, but maybe it was the angle I was viewing it. One website said Coopers hawks aren't much bigger than a crow, and this was much bigger than that. Anyways, it was way cool and I will keep an eye out for it.

Sure wish we would get some owls. We had a nest of little screech owls about 15 years ago.

I agree with pamven above, I have never seen a Cooper's hawk even attempt to take a squirrel. A red-shouldered hawk has a rust to orange front, somewhat like to Coop, and will have banned tail, again somewhat like the Coop, and unlike the red-tailed which has no banding. But, again, I have never seen a red-shouldered take a squirrel. The other option for ridding yourself of squirrels is a red-tailed fox. See the link below for marginal photos of one 'catch'. Better photos of the fox are at http://crhabitat.blogspot.com/ and click on Red-tailed Fox under labels on the right.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fox Capture Squirrel in Colvin Run Habitat

I watched a Cooper's about two weeks ago take a chipmunk from under the bird feeder. She swooped in, and sat on it, I guess suffocating it. I expected her to eat it there, but took off with it. This was just across the drive from my kitchen and without a doubt was a Cooper. She nests at the strip mine ponds across the road and my feeders are a regular part of her hunting route, as her parents' before her.

We have red tails living in the woods and they are on our property every day. Just last week one of them ran a junco into the window and then flew off with him.

And as to the question of Cooper's hawks taking out squirrels..the GW raptor forum sure seems to think so. One of them even has a picture of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: coopers hawk with squirrel

Well I wish a few of them would start depopulating the squirrels around here. I've got way too many of those tree rats.

The other day DH said came in all excited that he had seen a bald eagle flying around in the woods out back. I dismissed his statement as him being nuts because we don't see them around here. But then the other night on the news there was a big story about eagles nesting in a tree about 5 miles up the road & all the people who are coming out to watch them, so now I've got to admit that he was right after all.

that hurts sometimes,doesn't it? LOL

Now I'm going to do some research.

We have some hawks in the area that are so large they frighten even me. When you see them perched in a tree or on a power line their obvious size is startling. My first thought is that they could carry off a small dog but...oh no, that's the territory of the coyotes who have made quite a name for themselves this year.

It hasn't been a particularly cold or snowy winter but the coyotes have created quite a stir. The hoards of people moving to this area in their desire to live in the country have done so without any clue as to what that entails, or what stresses the march of civilization put upon the wildlife.

Developers probably need to include a packet of information at closing -
- Your house will become very dusty when the nearby farmer is working in his field. Please do not write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper concerning this situation, it's part of living in the country.
- The air will be filled with stinky smells when the farmer is flinging "honey" on the fields. This "honey" is animal waste, a.k.a. fertilizer. Please do not write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper concerning this situation, it's part of living in the country.
- If you get behind a hay wagon you'll be late for your dinner reservations. See above for advice about letter to the editor.
- Your home has been built on land previously deeded to wild animals. You are encroaching on their territory. Please do not leave pets unattended on your property. They will and have disappeared. With diminished territorial space coyotes are in competition for food. Winter is mating season and the females must increase calorie consumption. Your pug is cute but simply represents an easy meal. If you've noticed reports in the newspaper that 5 small unattended dogs have disappeared in the last 3 weeks you have no one but yourself to blame for the fact that Fifi is now history. Please do not insist that local wildlife official remove all the coyotes. Ain't gonna happen and even if they do the coyotes in the next territory will simply move in.
- The large herds of deer that share this land with you are indescriminate diners. They especially love expensive perennials from the local designer nursery.

Suzanne, those big scary hawks are likely redtails, buteos as opposed to accipiters which coopers and sharpies are. They do the sit and watch then dive and grab....while the accipiters use a burst of speed and a grab.
I live in an hundred year old established neighborhood, and I love when a little but of the wild intrudes....sometimes! LOL!
Linda C

Suzanne you left out the part about:
The brown stinky stuff in the road you just ran over
is manure either from the dairy farm down the road or
the neighbor's horses. Great fertilizer also but it IS
messy when it's thrown from tractor tires or it falls off
the truck during transport. Don't put the top down on your
cute little car and don't call to complain about it either.
Welcome to the country.

For Eagle fans here's a link for you.
Click on live Eagle cam and enjoy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eagle Cam

Janis, thanks for the Eagle Cam Link. I read the history...what a heartwarming story of the efforts that go into helping the eagles...and the successful hatching of new generations of this magnificent creature. josh

Yeah Jan, and don't put it onto your garden "raw", it will burn the heck out of all your plant material.

Oh! Yeah! It works great if you let it age and then pour
water on it in a bucket and make a TEA.

Josh, there are so many live cams out there. You can watch
birds all over the world. Amazing, just amazing.

Oh thanks Jan. Now i have another live critter-cam addiction to go with Africam. And i dare wonder why my butt is getting so wide???

Watching an eagle cam can have you on the edge of your seat...it's a real soap opera. Some of us here watched one last year and it was touch and go for one of the eaglets. We didn't know if he would make it or not and having watched him hatch and then be hungry for a very long time because he was so small and big sis gulped all the food...well,it was hard to watch sometimes. BUT..he did make it and what a wonderful experience it was. Don't know if I could go through that again.

I miss the eagle watching along the Mississippi River by Alton, IL. In the winter they nest around there in teh seemingly hundreds. We used to drive up to several spots along the River Road in January & February and watch them for hours. They are just incredible birds & are just magnificent in flight.

Lilo and I were sitting on her deck having a glass of wine when a flock of quail spooked. I looked to see where our dogs were, they were on the deck. Suddnely there was a shadow, bird screeming, the wings of a Redtail over the corner of the deck not 4 feet away. She got that quail.

I once lost a kitten to an Owl, we were new to country life and had no idea. My cats go in and out but not 'till they are six mo. old and they stay in at night 'till one year old. Bob cats and 'coons are still a worry then.

Acorn, I don't even want to think about having to watch
a Quail being taken by a Hawk.
I didn't even hear or see a Quail last year. They
haven't fared too well here as of late.
I used to call them up in the yard and see them frequently
with their babies. The Quail and the Woodcocks seem to
have vanished.
It's very sad to think about.