our next door neighbour came haring in the other day asking to borrow one of my many bird books - he'd just seen a hawk-like bird flapping around the neighbourhood roads, then stooping to the ground after its prey. He showed me the photo he'd taken on his phone, too.

It was, without any doubt, one of these....

http://wildlifeanimalz.blogspo...pers-Hawk-Facts.html

It didn't have a leg tag, either. So I called up the local Raptor Foundation to check if they'd lost one of their inmates - nope, they didn't have one to lose, and didn't I know they were a North American bird?

I replode that I sure as hell knew that, and then called the RSPB, whose HQ is about twenty miles South of us here in rural East Anglia.

'Very interesting, that.' and told me that they had noted it in the day-book as an unusual sighting...

About as common here in UK as an Albatross.

We drove around for a while, epoving that we might catch a glimp of it, but to no avail.

tac

I'd garner he's got jesses on his legs.
Probably a falconers bird.

We had lots of them when I lived in Arizona, and ive seen a few around here in the Pacific northwest as well.

This guy landed next to my truck a couple days ago.

Cooper's Hawks are the most common hawk in my area, with Red-Tailed hawks.

During long rainy spells, they often get infestd with small black flies, and coupled with a weakened state, as to not being able to hunt as effectively , they often can't fly.

I have captured two Cooper's Hawks in bad health, and taken them to a local wildlife rehabilitator.
She nurses them back to health and releases them, she has told me, if the distance isn't too far, they will return to where they were caught. If you ever catch a raptor, always as quick as possible , place it in a darkened cardbox box or covered cage, and avoid any unnecessary contact.

Krestrels (sparrow hawks around here) used to be very common, but I see very few of them now.

We usually get one to frequent our backyard during the winter where it picks off pigeons that come into our bird feeder. We live in the city (not like NY or anything), but it's still neat to see the hawk.

The bird has been hanging out along a local highway as I see it sitting on the light poles.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
I'd garner he's got jesses on his legs.
Probably a falconers bird.

Nossir. From ten yards away the bird had neither ring nor jesses. Nor are there any registered here in UK except in zoos and maybe one or two raptor centres.

Seeing a loose Cooper's Hawk here in Eastern England is on a par with seeing a Secretary Bird.

Possibly an illegal that escaped, like the Griffon Vulture found in Dorset a few years back - also ringless.

tac

we have them all over the place here - see them every day - the local ones here hunt in pairs - cool to watch

I Love Coopers.. I saw one that moved into a residential area that I drive in a lot, it was over populated with squirrels. You would see 4-5 in everyone's yard. After a few weeks they seemed to thin out a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by Zecpull:
I Love Coopers.. I saw one that moved into a residential area that I drive in a lot, it was over populated with squirrels. You would see 4-5 in everyone's yard. After a few weeks they seemed to thin out a bit.

I wish they would go after the raccoons too....

We have a family of red shouldered hawks living around here. They are majestic birds. When they fly over they leave such a huge shadow on the ground that you know to look up.

https://chwinery.com/

Around here we go to Coopers Hawk. And we see them in our backyard too.

We see them occasionally. This is one that visited a neighbor this past summer.



Jim