Today my youngest son was looking out the French doors and asked what kind of bird was on the fence.

I looked out and saw a small hawk. Usually by the time I grab the camera they have flown away, but today I was able to grab the camera, open the French Doors, and take a few shots of this Cooper's Hawk:

Great photo. What camera did you use?

Awesome! Look at those needle-sharp talons!
Coops are serious bird catchers.

Great picture, and a beautiful bird!

 
We have a Harris Hawk with jesses attached, flying wild, The poor bird is starving, the jesses are wrapped around its tail. My wife has tried to engage the AZ hawking people, but no joy there. Is there anything you hawking people can do to save this bird. She will not let it starve.
 
Location, 34.033816, -112.833967, (our house), but we see her flying around our area.
 

quote:

Originally posted by xray 99:
Great photo. What camera did you use?

This was taken with a Pentax K-1 (full frame DSLR) and my Sigma 50-500mm lens at about 50 feet today in overcast conditions.

And thank you all for the comments.

We have many hawks, falcons and eagles in this area.

We put out seed and plant outside plants that attract many sparrows, finches, doves, magpies, Tow-Hees, and Juncos which in turn attracts the smaller hawks.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
We have a Harris Hawk with jesses attached, flying wild, The poor bird is starving, the jesses are wrapped around its tail. My wife has tried to engage the AZ hawking people, but no joy there. Is there anything you hawking people can do to save this bird. She will not let it starve.
 
Location, 34.033816, -112.833967, (our house), but we see her flying around our area.
 

Harris Hawks are great birds for falconry.

For the bird you're asking about, put on a glove and grab some raw meat. Grasp the meat in the glove, making it easy to see.

If you have a whistle, like a referee's whistle, tweet that a couple of times and hold your fist out.

Hawks are trained to the whistle, they hear that and think 'food time'.

Once on your fist, grab the jesses and take it from there. If you're going to cut them loose, do it carefully not to damage the hawk's legs, probably using scissors.

I would suggest feeding the bird first, before freeing it.

You can buy some chicken hearts at the store, and let them warm up a bit. That'll do in a pinch. Let him or her eat all they want.

ETA: Make sure you have the feet under control while you're feeding the bird. If you use your ungloved hand to add more meat to the glove, do it carefully. If the bird sees it, it might grab your hand with one of it's feet. That's going to hurt a lot.

Better to bring the meat to the glove carefully, under the glove, so the bird can't see it.

Beautful bird. Thank you for sharing! We have a lot of red tailed hawks around here. Love to watch them soar!

Excellent photo!

That may overcome my procrastination at getting a K-1.

Beautiful image!

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but that could be a Sharpie.

Great photo and beautiful bird.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
We have a Harris Hawk with jesses attached, flying wild, The poor bird is starving, the jesses are wrapped around its tail. My wife has tried to engage the AZ hawking people, but no joy there. Is there anything you hawking people can do to save this bird. She will not let it starve.
 
Location, 34.033816, -112.833967, (our house), but we see her flying around our area.
 

What's a "jesse"?

flashguy

I had to Google it.
jess (falconry)
A jess (plural "jesses") is a thin strap, traditionally made from leather, used to tether a hawk or falcon in falconry.

Jesses are the cords connected to the anklets, used to tether the bird.

See if she can get a heavy glove and call it down to eat.

Harris Hawks are very docile and he should readily come to a call.

Terrific photo, beautiful bird! We have them around us, on occasion but I never get a really good photo.

Very cool, what a badass bird! Thanks for taking the time to share it!

 
Thanks for the replies on the Harris Hawk. We have not seen her since Saturday.
 
lizardman_u, my apologies for the thread derailment. That is a beautiful Cooper's Hawk, and a stunning photo.
 

Great photo! It would make great wallpaper for someone's computer.

I agree with everyone one else here, that's a very nice photo! The detail and color are fantastic - nice job!

Gorgeous photo.

Makes me want a K-1 that much more.

Shot wide open? Or stopped-down a bit?