Cooper’s Hawk
Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Combs Road, Easthampton
Photograph and text by Derek Allard, Easthampton
I was just about to call it a day of birding on a recent Saturday and thought I’d check the little inlet off the Oxbow to see if I could find any interesting waterfowl (I’d seen a bufflehead there the week prior). It was very quiet as I walked the path at the edge. Then my eye picked up a shape in the tree across the inlet. Now I knew why it was quiet.
This juvenile Cooper’s Hawk was perched and intently scanning the area for prey. I made a few photos (including the one here) before a large American Crow came down to harass the hawk. The hawk proceeded to fly out and dive-bomb the crow repeatedly before perching again on a branch farther up the inlet. This harass / dive-bomb / perch / harass / dive-bomb / perch game continued for about 10 minutes before the hawk flew to a new location. Not a bad way for me to end the morning.
Derek Allard is affiliated with the Robert Floyd Photo Gallery, 2 East St., Southampton. It is open Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., also, by chance/appointment.