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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) Juvenile

I know, there's been a lot of birds lately on this ostensibly urban blog but I'm still playing catch up with all these city residents I've hitherto ignored. Here's another, my first hawk, Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) I believe, although there are a couple of other very similar hawks. I saw this young one out at Swan Lake yesterday.

11 comments:

Dean Lewis said...

Great close-up. Other birds fear these guys, and their vision is telescopic compared to ours.

Last year, one of them was perched inside a tree right on the lower causeway and chasing sparrows. A number of tourists got a good look at something completely unexpected.

JoJo said...

Are you a birder as well? B/c you know A LOT about the birds you feature. I am not sure I could tell one hawk from another.

Benjamin Madison said...

Thanks Dean - yes he looks like he's got great vision.
JoJo, I wasn't a birder a few months ago but I think I am turning into one - I notice some pin feathers sprouting in the chicken skin I'm developing....

Chelle said...

Awesome shot! I've really enjoyed all your bird pictures, especially since we have most of them here in Anacortes. :-)

Dave Harris said...

Great work Benjamin! You are turning into a first class birder. I wonder if you can link to any birding sites? I'm sure they'd love to see your work!

Mike Laplante said...

You want to see some eagles and hawks, hike up to the top of nearby Christmas Hill. The raptors there ride the thermals and it's not unusual to see one coast by just ten feet or so above your head.

Kcalpesh said...

This is cool! A very well timed shot! Rarely get to see these kind of birds sitting still in my part of the world...

Pixellicious Photos

Benjamin Madison said...

Thanks, Dave. There is a lot of truly amazing nature photography online now and mine has still a long ways to go. I'm still working on getting things in focus!
Thanks for the tip, Mike. Next time I'm out that way I'll make sure to check out Christmas Hill.
KC - they don't sit still long enough here for me. In fact it makes me quite antagonistic some times and I begin to believe the birds are determined to frustrate me with their senseless, random hopping about.

Dean Lewis said...

" Senseless, random hopping about"
Haha.
It seems the smaller the bird, the more skittish they are. Has to be a defense of sorts.
One of the very cutest, but also most flitty is the Winter Wren. If you should ever capture a close-up of one, it would be a real feat.

Dean Lewis said...

How close would you say you were to this beautiful creature?
Can't imagine him letting you get as close as it seems.

Benjamin Madison said...

I must have been about 12-15 meters distant. That's a 500mm telephoto lens on its first outing that brings him so close and clear. He also sat quite still for quite a long time - I took about 40 shots over a period of about 10 minutes so I was able to choose the sharpest for here.