Cooper's Hawk and Red Tailed Hawk

[Maestro]

I have been observing this Cooper's Hawk now for about six months. It has been very camera shy. Finally, though I was able to get some usable shots. They aren't fantastic as I had to blur in the foreground some tall plants, but it is a relatively clean shot.

Looking to its left


Looking to its right


Wider angle


These last few of a red tailed hawk are actually from Nov. 2006, but I am showing these now because a friend had asked for some 8X10 prints that turned out horribly. I had cropped them too much and my post processing skills at the time were minimal. So I reprocessed them and I am much happier with the results. I like the backlit tail feathers and wing feathers.

[Eurobabe]

1. Oh, I love the second photo, this bird looks intense...

just gorgeous. Maestro, you must have the patience of a saint. :hi:

[Maestro]

4. I don't have all that much patience, but as I get older

the more I seem to have, especially if I am outside. I could spend a lot of time outside. Thanks for the comments. :hi:

[F.Gordon]

2. Wonderful

I love the way ya' got the crystal clear eye on the elusive hawk and the highlights in the feathers on the flying hawk are great. I see you're goin' for the whole compositionalistic :P thing. The 3rd photo is really done nicely.

A good print will bring out all the boo-boos in a photo. If you do a lot of tight cropping you might want to do a search of the different 'interpolation' (make bigger) software things out there.

[Maestro]

5. Thanks for noticing the compositional

thing. ;) I am trying to improve my technical presentation. I used to think that closer was better in avian photography, and many think this, but I shoot my birds as I find them out in Nature. I rarely have the opportunity to sit in blind with a set-up 5 feet in front of me although believe I would love to! However, I have decided to try to capture the birds as I see them, whereever, they are. If I can get close, great, if not, I will make the best to show the bird as I remember it. Let's hope I have good exposure and focus. :)

[jhain]

3. The first one almost

makes me want to cover my throat protectively. That bird is serious. What a GREAT photo..

The Cooper's is amazing. I happen to be holding a grudge against the entire Red Tail family this week. A young red tail has learned that my chickens and ducks may sometimes be a free lunch. Lost another duck this week. Darn hawk.

[Maestro]

6. They are actually pretty small little hawks; nothing like a red tailed hawk.

I'm sorry to hear about the red tailed hawk taking your chickens and ducks. Usually red tailed hawks will stick to rodents and small reptiles, but if those are in short supply and the red tailed sees something of opportunity, it will take those for sure.

Thanks for the comments though.

[jhain]

7. I think this guy

was very dumb but, alas, very lucky here. If it is the same bird, and I do believe it is, when he was a juvenile he stupidly tried to get my birds and ended up entangled in the net that serves to keep the chickens in their yard...perhaps because he DID get away with no harm done he tried again one day soon after and ended up with a nice dinner. And, he is coming back based on experience. Everything you read says red tails will not do this. But, I think there was a reason someone dubbed them 'Chicken Hawks' way back when...........

[Maestro]

8. That is definitely a juvi red tailed hawk in that pic.

Nice pics of an odd perdicament in which this hawk found itself. That behavior for going for chickens is odd, but if the opportunity is there, I am sure it will go for it. Cooper's Hawks, Sharp-shinned hawks and red shouldered hawks are much more willing to go after other birds. Again, cool set of pics.

[jhain]

9. I once saw a Sharpie

jumping up and down on top of someone's shrubbery. Each time he jumped, out shot a couple more sparrows!

I nearly did an e brake turn not to miss that one! Whipped the car around and sat there HOWLING at that hawk! It was wild. He never did get a bird. It seemed that he was so frustrated he simply LOST it !!

I heard my nemesis, Mr.Chicken Hawk today but, no visual.

[KC]

13. Great pictures

How on earth did you get that first one?
KC

[soup]

10. Your colors are gorgeous -

love the browns on the bird and the bare branches against the blue sky. It may have taken months to get the shot, but it was definitely worth the wait. Winter does have a plus side...

[Maestro]

15. Thanks Soup. I'm my own worst critic. The more I look at the

Cooper's pic the more I think it could be sharper with a better background. Oh well, guess I need to head out again. Darn. ;)

[jhain]

11. Thought of these photos today

had to drive to the bitter ( southerly) end of the Garden State parkway today. Cape May, NJ.
I saw a coopers and a red tail. -my reward for dental visit trauma endurance.

[Maestro]

14. Cape May is raptor central on the east coast!

There is a big birding tourism industry there. I'd love to make it up there some day.

[jhain]

17. it certainly is.

and I have helped audobon folks - they were netting and banding birds and needed a hand getting the little song birds out of the nets... in the deep woods. in the middle of the night...

spooky......

and these are both close to me:

http://www.njaudubon.org/Centers/CMBO/

[Maestro]

19. Extremely jealous!

I would love to visit some day.

[KC]

12. Fantastic pictures

Do you know what kind of hawk this one is?



KC

[Maestro]

16. Thanks KC.

Your pic is a bit difficult to judge because I really need to see the tail or possibly the chest for a definitive answer, but it looks like a red tailed hawk to me or possibly a red-shouldered hawk because it looks like I see a bit of reddish color creeping over the shoulders but my gut says red tailed hawk.

[KC]

18. Thank you

I'm sure you are right! Here is another picture.
We just saw this one sitting on a fence and stopped the car to take the picture.
Hope this works!

<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="hawk2"></a>

[Maestro]

20. Okay, now I know what it is. It is a red-shouldered hawk.

You can tell by the way the red feathers travel up the shoulders. And a red tailed hawk would be much bigger.

[KC]

21. Cool

I've never heard of that one before. It's nice to know what it is though for sure !
Thank you again.
KC