Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Thomson Marsh Park

Kelowna, BC

 

I hadn't planned to go to Kelowna yesterday, but one of my bosses had an emergency and need my help, so I headed into town. I figured while I was in town, I would do my power walk on the indoor track. Of course I brought my camera and stopped at the park that is adjacent to the indoor track.

 

As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw this beautiful Cooper's Hawk hiding in a tree behind some thick branches. I waited to see what would happen and my patients paid off. It flew to a nearby tree and landed on a branch out in the open. It hung around for a while, doing some stretching, preening and pooping. Then, the sun came out from behind the clouds making for optimal light.

 

While I was standing there and observing the hawk, a gentleman with a camera came up and asked if I was Tania. It turned out to be a fellow Flickrite, Keith Richardson. You can check out Keith's photostream here: Keith Richardson

 

More photos in the comments. I cropped the last photo so that you can see the haw's "nictitating membrane" as it moves across the eye.

 

Done