My lunch was interrupted by a very loud "wham!" against the house.
Immediately afterwards a juvenile Cooper's Hawk landed on a branch over the
deck to catch its breath. It was obviously quite shaken up and maybe a bit
embarrassed from failing to catch whichever feeder bird it had pursued. I
noticed our local Red-shouldered Hawk watching from across the yard.
About 15 minutes later, there was a flurry of wings right outside the glass
doors. The Red-shoulder was chasing what appeared to be a different (adult)
Cooper's. Both birds paused right next to the house for a couple of
minutes -- an impressive sight -- and then the Red-shouldered drove the
Cooper's away. Because this Red-shoulder hangs around our deck hoping to
grab frogs from the adjacent fishpond, perhaps she assumed the Cooper's
(Cooper'ses?) was a rival with the same intention.
Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)
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"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot |