They breed here, Alan. Northern CA. coast, riparian woodlands, mainly....we see them hunting in the edges of the woods frequently, and hear babies from time to time. Northern Goshawks, on the other hand, breed much farther north and are occasionally only seen here... Will tell my mom what you said...see OT: My Mom for how to reach me...so you can reach her :)

Before this one, I'd only seen a cooper's, aside from flyovers, once since i started bird watching. It was perched on neighbors HAM radio antenna, and I was able to get a few pics of it. Before I started bird watching, I saw, what I now am pretty sure was, a cooper's hawk try to catch a blue jay that was perched in one of my crepe Myrtle trees, right in front of me, he missed though! Everything I've ever reAd about cooper's, describes them as being "uncommon" in urban areas and lists them As "forest dwelling hawks" which is what made me doubt this hawk was a cooper's, and also why I usually assume it's a red tailed when I see hawks in busy/urban areas, now I'll make sure to take a closer look! Thanks!

You can't disturb a nest once it has eggs in it. If you at all prevent a hawk from raising it's young, it's called a 'take'. The hawk may or may not abandon the nest and the young may or may not get the food they need to grow and if any of the disturbance is your doing, US Fish & Wildlife will be secretly filming you and trying to build a case. Many people get on a 'witch hunt' over hawks and 'their rights'. It's a small minded neighborhood thing because many view the hawks now as cool thanks to nest cams. My advice is to remove any tall trees that would be an ideal nesting site if budget allows, or make them unappealing before nesting season by paying a tree climber to add a fake racoon or fake owls that move, or other bright, big objects that move such as huge balloons with eyes, large shiny pinwheels with tape that flashes in the breeze. Add several so as to overwhelm the hawk as it first approaches it's old nesting area. It may not stop the hawk from coming to the area but may pursuade it to nest elsewhere. Just make sure that the type of hawk you're trying to encourage to move isn't considered endangered in your area. Your local game commission may have that information. A pic provided to them will be helpful. I know red shouldered hawks are becoming more scarce due to red tail hawks taking over good hunting and nesting grounds. Just check with your local authorities before taking any action.

I thought it was a red tailed hawk, too the moment I saw the picture. See them all the time in Texas. But this one is missing the red on the end of his tailfeathers! Or does that not come in until maturity?