Greetings,

This is my first posting to this list so bare with me. Monday afternoon I was standing in the kitchen with my head clued to the phone. I was on hold (of course) and my eyes drifted out the kitchen window into a neighbors yard. Across the ally about about 80 feet away I spotted something well out of the ordinary. When my eyes finally adjusted I realized I was looking at a hawk calmly sitting in my neighbords yard no more than about 6 feet from her doorstep. 


I was almost giddy at this point so imagine my surprise when approximately 15 minutes later another hawk appears and lands on the fence approximately 20 feet from the first bird. I distance was such that I could not identfy the first bird for sure and while the second bird was a little closer I could not identify it either. I rushed upstairs to get my binoculars. Thankfully both birds were still where I left them. After some adjusting of the lens (I have not lifted these binoculars to my eyes in well over a decade) I was completely shocked to realize what I was looking at was an adult and an immature Cooper's Hawk. The adult bird, the one I saw first, was sitting on a pigeon he obviously had killed. The immature bird sat on the fence for another 15 minutes or so and then quite abruptly took off. The adult bird remained where he, or she, was for another 30 minutes or more. This was my first close up look at a Cooper's Hawk and I was absolutely delighted. 


I have some questions, but first let me tell you where I am. I am located within the city (Baltimore) limits, between Erdman and Chesterfield; not far from Herring Run and Lake Montabello. Can someone tell me if there have been other sightings of Cooper's Hawks in the city ? I have more to say, but think I will wait to hear your responses. 


Thank you for taking the time to read this and a special thank you to those of you who take the time to respond.