Cooper’s Hawk

Royal Botanical Gardens. Hendrie Valley, Burlington. ON. August 26 2022. I walked the valley this morning, I wanted exercise for one thing and I was curious to look for hints on what to expect when we resume regular transects next week. There was a Mother-Nature’s-up-to-something feel in the air,  it was all about summer winding down to let fall take over.

It was an encounter with a Cooper’s Hawk that made my morning. As I made my way up an inclined trail, I turned to look back and could see the silhouette of a largish bird strategically high in a bare tree, quite far away. A quick look and I felt it was probably a Cooper’s Hawk but possibly a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Cooper’s are more common around here but a Sharp-shinned can’t be ruled out. It was a long way off, partly obscured and they are confusable.

A young family came down the path towards me and two of them, a bold and cheerful girl of about 7 or 8 with her brother, perhaps 10. She came up to me and asked brightly. “Have you seen any interesting birds?”

“Well yes’ I said, ‘There’s a hawk in that tree way over there. Can you see it?”

She had a monocular and searched briefly. “Yes, I can see it. It’s hard to see in the bright light. What do you think it is?

“I think it’s a Cooper’s Hawk.” I said, now quite enjoying this lively wiser-than-her-years birder.

Her brother seemed only mildly interested, said nothing and continued on down the path, their mother took over his spot beside us to listen quietly to our hawk conversation.

“Is it a Red-tailed Hawk?”

“No, I think it’s a Cooper’s Hawk.  It might be a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but I think probably a Cooper’s.”

“Hmm. We should ask my brother. He’s a bird expert. He’s got a big book of bird pictures and knows all the differences between them. He reads it all the time and won’t allow anyone else to look at it.  Should we go closer?”

“Yes, I think it’s worth a try.”

Getting closer meant a bit of backtracking for me, but happily so. In time we all gathered at a spot where a decent gap in the trees afforded us a much better look.  Even so the bird was high up, still strongly back-lit and we were only debating a silhouette.

Now the brother became fully engaged, he had drawn his own conclusion. “It’s either a Cooper’s Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk.” He proclaimed. I was impressed.

I managed to take this photo which, despite the distance and back-light, was helpful. We gathered around to inspect it. The young birders were engaged, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, it felt like a teachable moment.

For a few reasons I favoured Cooper’s Hawk and I shared my thoughts.  “I think it’s a Cooper’s, and here’s why: Cooper’s have a rounded tail whereas Sharp-shinned Hawks tails are more squared; and the head profiles are different. Also these little fluffy plumes at the edge of the tail are more often seen in Cooper’s.”

They considered the photo evidence, weighed my contribution and I think the brother was close to agreeing with me.

“Hmmm, you can’t make out the tail shape very well, but you really know your stuff.” He said. Their mother shot me a raised eyebrows look.

That Cooper’s Hawk (for that is what I believe it was) was My Bird of the Day.