This morning, a Coopers Hawk decided to take a break in our backyard birdbath near Annapolis. He sat there for a while, so we got a great look. A squirrel didn't notice that the bird in the bath wasn't one of the usual doves until he got within about 4 feet, then he sat-up, took a good look, and decided that the far side of a tree trunk was a safer place. The hawk watched him approach, but didn't seem scared or predatory. Before leaving the bath, the hawk did a pretty good imitation of a robin, throwing water all over him(?)self. Then he flew up to a low limb and sat for several minutes before flying our-of-sight. Of course, there were NO other birds in the yard for a while after.
I guess he is migrating, although we did see a similar-sized hawk high is some trees in our yard a few weeks ago. We couldn't get a good look before, because that hawk stayed in thick foliage or on the far side of tree trunks. |