I knew from the Blue Jay's early warning system something was happening in the front garden. There were about 6 or 8 of them in the tree top of the Live Oak screaming "thief, thief, thief!"
On a lower tree limb perched an immature Cooper's Hawk like the one on the left. He or she was about 16 inches long so it could have been a young male or female.
Yes, this is a Bird of Prey specialized for flying at high rates of speed in trees and thickets. The Cooper's favorite meal are smaller birds; hence, the warning was on target for the birds.
Henpecked. The Cooper's fits the definition of henpecked. The males are smaller than the females, by a "good weight size."
Cooper's Hawk "males are 13 to 16 inches, with the females being 16 to 19 inches. Considering the difference in size and the type of diet, the males are quite solicitous of the females and only approach their mate is cooing softly and not agitated. During nesting the male not only builds the nest, he has 90% of the responsibility for feeding the female and her chicks for 3 months.
Before you feel too harsh about this fascinating bird, remember man is on the top of the food chain, but predators of all kinds have their place in nature.
To see mature pictures of the Cooper's Hawk as well as learn more, especially if one is preying on your bird feeder, press here.
Other Winter Birds we're seeing in grass and wetlands . . .
The American Bittern is a winter visitor along the Texas Gulf Coast. Often heard, not seen, this one poked its head up from the tall grass and reeds along the San Bernard River near the Coast (in Brazoria County, Texas). The San Bernard is one of the few rivers along the Texas Gulf Coast that empties directly into the Gulf of Mexico, not a the coastal bay system.
With more and more development, we are losing our tall grasslands and wetlands that support so many of our birds that depend on those habitats. Support keeping open space open and natural!
Photos copyrighted by international birder Margaret Sloan.
Story and Research by Janice Scanlan.
See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban Fort Bend,Texas backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.