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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 26, 2020 23:03:08 GMT -5
This year's clutch of Cooper Hawks. They fledged last weekend at some point. This is the 4th year in a row that the Coopers have nested on our property and have hatched 3 kids. 
Kids after having showers in the sprinklers.
Mom keeping a close eye on them.
On the saw shop roof.
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Post by amygdule on Jun 27, 2020 0:49:03 GMT -5
Hunting for Rocks From the saw shop roof. Thank You for Sharing This year's clutch of Cooper Hawks. They fledged last weekend at some point. This is the 4th year in a row that the Coopers have nested on our property and have hatched 3 kids  |
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Post by MsAli on Jun 27, 2020 5:51:19 GMT -5
They are so cool!
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Post by orrum on Jun 27, 2020 8:15:50 GMT -5
Great pics, thanks for posting them!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Jul 3, 2020 22:09:01 GMT -5
I had a a falconer friend that had a pet Cooper.
He would throw the bird like a football and the bird knew to start flapping wings and fly away.
Well, he could throw it at a passing bird and it would catch it.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 3, 2020 23:11:13 GMT -5
I can believe that. Our Cooper kids are totally at ease around us. This morning we were on the back porch and one of the kids decided to have a bath. He knew we were there (we talk to them).
He was more interested in the hummingbirds flying around in the pear trees.
Bath time:
And then there's the Porch Bunny who hangs out with us on the porch:
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Jul 3, 2020 23:17:25 GMT -5
Can't say we have pet Coopers here, but the "kids" this year are more relaxed around us. These three have seen us wandering around since they got big enough to see over the edge of the nest.
The cypress nest tree lost a limb in a big snowfall two winters back. Gave us a better view, and let them see us too. Even "Mama Cooper" didn't threaten to rip off our ears this year like she has in past years.
For the first two years, we'd be walking along minding our own business and suddenly hear a big rustlng whoosh by the side of our heads. She would cruise in from behind and flip up on her side as she went by. No doubt she coulda' taken a piece of an ear with her if she had wanted to. She was that close!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Jul 5, 2020 6:11:30 GMT -5
Cooper hawks are contenders Robin. Like bantam roosters on steroids. Pound for pound tough and nimble attack artists.
You are so fortunate to have this bird of prey hanging on your place.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 5, 2020 9:26:37 GMT -5
We are very fortunate to have them. We get so excited when we see mom and dad working on a new nest in February. Then we worry about the kids until we can see them. This year the weather was abnormal. Stayed cold a lot longer and then 2 new families with kids moved in across the irrigation easement directly behind us. They made gobs of noise. We were really concerned that the hawks would move or abandon the nest altogether. When the first chick hatched we were delighted. We thought that was maybe the only one. When we saw the other two we were so happy.
Here's a picture from June 6. Dad caught breakfast for the kids and left us this visual first thing in the morning:
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 9, 2020 20:27:41 GMT -5
They're getting big!
One decided to go say hello to Vince while he was taking pictures from the back porch.
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EricD
Cave Dweller
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Jul 9, 2020 20:37:41 GMT -5
I'm a pretty big fan of falcons. A friend of mine trains peregrine falcons, and works with the FBI to curb their trade to the UAE and arrest smugglers. Earlier this year my father and I had the honor of keeping track of a newly hatched bald eagle. He grew up real fast and now hunts on his own.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 9, 2020 20:53:27 GMT -5
That is so cool, EricD! We have some bald eagles that nest at Lynx Lake in Prescott and on occasion we will see one flying around out here. I would love to be able to see the baby eagles grow up.
The hawks are practicing hunting right now - trying to catch the bunnies, but the bunnies are a bit too big for them. Pretty soon they'll be on their own. They're already going farther and farther away on their forays.
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EricD
Cave Dweller
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Jul 9, 2020 21:01:45 GMT -5
We kinda do a drive-by viewing of the youngster. He's about 500 yards from a gravel road in an enormous cottonwood that has been their nesting ground for at least a decade. They have hatched many a chick and I've seen most of them. The parents are extremely mellow and efficient.
Watching a new lifeform grow up is pretty awesome
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Post by parfive on Jul 10, 2020 1:29:37 GMT -5
I'm a pretty big fan of falcons. A friend of mine trains peregrine falcons, and works with the FBI to curb their trade to the UAE and arrest smugglers. Your friend’s probably read this one. Mostly about a British cop but the egg thief trampled a few continents snatching falcon eggs for the Middle East. Check your library, it’s a good read. www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/books/review/falcon-thief-joshua-hammer.html
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Jul 10, 2020 6:57:58 GMT -5
Someone should chain that egg thief to something heavy and lock the bastard in the basement !
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 10, 2020 7:23:10 GMT -5
That last one of the bird checking out Vince is awesome. How special is that?  |
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Post by aDave on Jul 10, 2020 11:59:03 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones, that's really neat that you get to see them like that. That's the one downfall we have with the barn owls...they pretty much stay hidden the entire time, and then they're gone. Unless we go up to take a look, we wouldn't even know they're there. Usually, it's only one or two looks during the nesting season, as we don't like to stress them.
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Post by orrum on Jul 11, 2020 9:34:52 GMT -5
This is just so splendiferous cool!!!
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Post by parfive on Aug 13, 2020 13:31:51 GMT -5
Bald eagle shows air superiority, sends drone into lake
August 13, 2020 GMT
ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) — A bald eagle launched an aerial assault on a drone operated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy — known as EGLE — ripping off a propeller and sending the aircraft into Lake Michigan.
The attack happened July 21, when the drone was mapping shoreline erosion near Escanaba in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to document and help communities cope with high water levels, the department said in a statement.
Environmental quality analyst and drone pilot Hunter King said he had completed about seven minutes of the mapping flight when satellite reception became spotty.
King pressed a button to return the $950 drone to him and was viewing his video screen when the drone began to twirl.
“It was like a really bad roller coaster ride,” said King, who looked up and saw the eagle flying away, apparently unhurt by its confrontation with technology.
Two birdwatchers who were nearby saw the bird attack something but told officials they didn’t realize it was a drone.
The drone sent 27 warning notifications in the 3.5 seconds that it took to spiral to the water, including one noting that a propeller was missing. A search of the shoreline failed to find the drone. Data later revealed that it landed in 4 feet of water about 150 feet offshore.
EGLE’s drone team is considering what it can do to reduce the possibility of a repeat attack, including possibly using “skins” or other designs on the aircraft to make them look less like seagulls, the agency said.
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