I heard a loud thud in my back yard in Plano this afternoon from the vicinity of the bird feeder.
A Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) had killed a male Great-tailed Grackle and was perched on the ground surrounded by a large pile of feathers. |
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The hawk was extremely wary, turning its head constantly to watch for possible threats. |
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I photographed the bird at close range through the kitchen window, but I don't think it was aware of my presence. |
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The hawk remained motionless for several minutes and then turned its attention to the meal. |
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It spent several hours feeding. In this time there was no activity at the feeder. The squirrels, doves, sparrows, blue jays and juncos vanished and did not return to the yard for the rest of the day. |
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Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). The large size suggests that this is a female. |
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Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) |
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Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) |
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Ruffling its feathers, maybe a strategy to keep warm. Temperatures barely reached 20°F during the warmest part of the afternoon. |
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The hawk finally left around 4:45 PM, carrying the carcass in its talons. It flew a short distance to perch on a yaupon holly, studied the surroundings carefully and then flew off with the remains of its catch dangling. |
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