PNWPhotos.com a friendly and growing community of photographers with an interest in the Pacific Northwest region.
We feature a Photography Discussion Forum and Pacific Northwest Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other photographers, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more!
I was walking through one of my neighborhood parks near my home. When one day a hawk flew past me carrying a rat in it's talons. That clued me in there was a nest nearby. After a couple days I went back and sure enough there was. Of course the "kids" have left the nest and are nearly as large as Mom. But I feel fortunate to have caught Mom and one of her kids before they flew the coop. It's hard to tell the difference since the young Coopers have lost most of their downy fuzz. But there is a clear size difference that you won't be able to distinguish here.
P.S. Please don't ask me where I found them. They are in a very well traveled area in a residential area. Based on the circus that happened with the owlets in Tryon Creek I have decided not to share specific location info from now on other than they are in Lake Oswego, in the Mountain Park area.
I love Cooper's hawks, as they are a true urban hawk. I know of two parks near me which regularly produce juvies. I'll have to scout the parks the next two weeks to see if any juvies are present.
Both the hawks in your two photos are juvies. The vertical brown stripes + yellow eyes are a give-away. Adults have horizontal orange stripes + red eyes. There is a short period of time after the nest mates have fledged when they hang out together and chase each other before going their separate ways.
Both the hawks in your two photos are juvies. The vertical brown stripes + yellow eyes are a give-away. Adults have horizontal orange stripes + red eyes. There is a short period of time after the nest mates have fledged when they hang out together and chase each other before going their separate ways.
As with many raptors, the female Cooper's hawk is larger than the male. If you noticed a large size disparity between the juvies you photographed, the larger of the two was most likely a female.
Thanks Bill. There was a pretty evident size difference which is why I made that assumption. I was pretty glad to have caught them. They have been elusive and high up in the canopy. It took me q few trips out there to catch these shots.
