Birds and Nature

On my way home from Red Canyon Park I spotted an accipiter fly into some shrubs on the side of the road just ahead. I stopped my car and got these pics of this juvenile Cooper's Hawk trying to figure out where all the little birdies it was after went. SeEtta

The top pic shows the brown markings on the lower belly, flanks and leg feathers. The middle pic gives a good view of the brown tail with wide black bands and some of the dark brown upperparts. Interestingly there was an adult Cooper's nearby and these two occupied nearby perches without conflict. I suspect the juvenile is the offspring of the adult bird (pretty wary so I didn't get any pics of it) though it seems unusual for them to be together this many months after fledging. SeEtta

This juvenile Cooper's Hawk was looking for a bite, or two, to eat at the City Park pond in Pueblo, CO. Clearly different appearing from the adult Cooper's I posted earlier, this juvenile is an example of the 'heavily streaked type' described by Brian Wheeler in Raptors of Western North America which is "much more heavily densely and heavily streaked than on typical juveniles." Dark brown streaks are visible over the breast and belly with some brown markings on lower belly and flanks that look diamond shaped and even some that look like they are heart shaped. And there are dark brown markings on it's leg feathers but I can't discern their shape (could be heart or diamond shaped or bars per Wheeler). More pics to come. SeEtta