Fledgling Coopers Hawk

What a surprise last year when I looked out my office window to see this remarkable sight posing away on the railing of my back deck! Man I was surprised! I have been told it is a Coopers Hawk although I am no authority. The fluffy, downlike feathers all seem to point out however that it is indeed a very young bird. My yard and the lots on either side have had them nesting high in the boughs of pine trees nearby for years. When they are on the hunt you can hear them for blocks.

Often times I have been sitting at my desk deep into some Photoshop work and happen to "hear" a sudden silence outside my window. It gets deadly quiet when they are nearby and all my little bird friends get very quiet. Nothing moves at all... Then sometimes I will see them as they zoom by in a powerful attempt to capture some helpless bird or squirrel. It is a powerful sight when they are successful and almost a joke if they miss and crash in to the ground missing their prey completely. Nature is a powerful presence and it really is a lot of enjoyment for me to watch the birds from my window and photograph them as often as I have time.

I use powerful telephoto lenses to get good magnification of my subjects. This one was so close a minimal telephoto was used and did a reasonable job, He was totally unafraid of me and sat there with little movement for about 15 minutes.

Well the whole reason of the post is that it happened again last week. I was in a position where I was unable to capture this new bird because of a poor angle but it was an exact duplicate of last years bird. It too just sat there and watched all around the yard before flying off to hunt I suppose.

Next week I hope to share an image from a recent trip to St Augustine, FL and the Alligator Farm there. An amazing place to photograph birds and of course alligators. Stay tuned!

Feel free to visit my website for nature photos of my travels around the USA and maybe even purchase a print if you like! http://carneypictures.com/.