Hawkeye
The innocent smile.
While returning from a little walk, I happened upon this Cooper's hawk perched low to the ground in some scrub. He was completely undisturbed by my presence, or perhaps he was just too full to (want to) fly
Whatever the case, we looked at each other from close range for a minute or two, and so I decided to go get my camera in hopes the hawk would still be perched there when I got back. And it was.
Unfortunately, there is a bright branch diagonally across the hawk's chest in the full-frame images, so I decided to crop above it and get the tight framing rather than live with the branch, or -- horror of horrors!! - remove it.
This was a pretty good-sized bird, but it had the end of its tail buried in the scrub vegetation where it was perched. I do see a trace of the "rosy cheeks" said to mark females, but it also has the "dark head" said to be a sign of males, as are the deep red eyes.
Almost certainly, this is the same resident Cooper's hawk I've photographed from a distance on several occasions, going back to the time he was a juvenile.
Hawkeye
The innocent smile.
While returning from a little walk, I happened upon this Cooper's hawk perched low to the ground in some scrub. He was completely undisturbed by my presence, or perhaps he was just too full to (want to) fly
Whatever the case, we looked at each other from close range for a minute or two, and so I decided to go get my camera in hopes the hawk would still be perched there when I got back. And it was.
Unfortunately, there is a bright branch diagonally across the hawk's chest in the full-frame images, so I decided to crop above it and get the tight framing rather than live with the branch, or -- horror of horrors!! - remove it.
This was a pretty good-sized bird, but it had the end of its tail buried in the scrub vegetation where it was perched. I do see a trace of the "rosy cheeks" said to mark females, but it also has the "dark head" said to be a sign of males, as are the deep red eyes.
Almost certainly, this is the same resident Cooper's hawk I've photographed from a distance on several occasions, going back to the time he was a juvenile.