Friday, September 19, 2014

Corralitas Drive: Cooper's Hawk Hunting In Eucalyptus Tree

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 18, 2014.  Around 4:30 pm something caught my eye jumping & flapping between the densely overgrown branches of the Eucalyptus out back.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It was a very small (maybe 12" tall) Cooper's Hawk. It was stalking a flock of little chirpy birds who make the rounds of my yard in the late afternoon.  The bird hunter was so focused it didn't care that I stepped outside to take photos of it just 20' away. 

Lacking a larger format camera, my photos don't compare to the awesome Cooper's Hawk photos shot a few months ago by Jonathan Vandiveer.  Cooper's Hawks are one of my White Whales; they always seem to show up when I don't have a camera in hand. 

Cooper's Hawks get special consideration during environmental review under CEQA for development projects.