This guy has been hanging around the yard today. He actually had a squirrel approach him from the bush, but he fluffed himself up and raised his wing I think to scare the squirrel. I think he didn’t want him to spook the rats.
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Coopers hawk?
Nothing to do with rat removal, but I just spent a week on the north shore and the raptor migration is on big time. I saw thousands of hawks and eagles, including a couple golden eagles, while either in the boat or on the breakwater in Two Harbors casting. The birds at the cabin feeders were under fire the whole week. Crazy how many hawks were around.
I believe it’s a red shouldered hawk. If it was a Cooper’s hawk, he would have been shooed immediately, since they primarily feed on birds.
Glad you guys mentioned Coopers hawk, had no idea what it was.
Few days ago a Coopers had a rather large bird pinned down right outside our front window. One of the coolest things we’ve seen in a while, called our oldest up to the front and we sat there and watched this for at least half hour. The hawk had this bird pinned down by its head, and was really just holding it there and readjusting his feet every once in a while the bird was trying to free itself. Hawk would peck at it periodically, but overall just holding it. The grass was rather long so never got a good look at what bird it was eating alive but had black and white barred feathers with a yellowish underbelly. Wanted to say a woodpecker but it was a big bird as well. Eventually the crows started showing up one by one and they started cawing and the hawk finally had the bird dead enough to fly away with it. Very cool spectacle.
I’ve witnessed a Cooper hawk hunt too. Quite the spectacle. Those hawks are agile.
This morning at the pond I saw a osprey splash and nab a tilapia.
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