Visiting Coopers Hawk

There’s nothing like a close-up seat for viewing a visiting bird.

This visitor was a female Cooper’s hawk.

The females are bigger than the males.

This one spent time checking for any visitors in the yard.

Apparently, the large oak tree across the highway was the main tree magnet.

This last picture was taken after the clouds thinned later in the  afternoon.

Cooperative Bluebird

This bluebird wasn’t hidden as much as it thought it was.

He reverses the direction for this picture.

The pale rust and pale blue blend in with its surroundings (squint and look at him.)

A different angle changes the shadow on the bluebirds.

Shadows help the bluebird to blend in with its surroundings.

Chipping Sparrows

I see several birds daily now, even in the gloomy rainy days. Their numbers continue to increase.

The chipping sparrows stayed among the limbs, close to the trunk of the tree.

They were active birds. At least a couple of them stayed for me to photograph.

This one might see food or want me to go somewhere else.

 

Resting Owl

I was taking a slow walk around the backyard yesterday afternoon.

  It was a calm, quiet day

with only a few birds: robins, a blue jay, a cardinal, and … an owl.

 Only the owl wasn’t really an owl. It was a broken limb in the sweet gum tree in our backyard.

It looked like an owl resting near the end of the limb.

I do so like owls of all kinds.

A Cooper’s Hawk

Our days have been cloudy and drab for weeks.

I sat in the recliner beside the window in the livingroom.

I had to turn around a little more than usual to see in the north side of the large oak.

… and there was a Cooper’s hawk, searching the limbs for birds to eat.

Cooper’s hawks are accipters — meaning they eat other birds. They’re also larger than the sharp-shinned hawks.

I  sat in the rocker-recliner beside the window. The males are considerably smaller than the female Cooper’s hawk, and the ends of their tails are squared.

The hawk landed on this branch and stayed there for quite a while.

It was a Cooper’s hawk.

(All these pictures were taken of the same hawk)

The huge oak grows across the highway from our house and can be a bird magnet.

A Visiting Cooper’s Hawk

A Cooper’s hawk decided to perch in the sweet gum tree in our front yard.

Its brown pattern blended in with its surroundings.

Then it decided to perch on a sign across the highway, beside our neighbor’s barn. It was a cloudy day with a light snow falling.

The Cooper hawk’s tail has a squared-off end, where a  sharp-shinned hawk’s has a rounded tail.

The light snow was enough that I couldn’t get good clear pictures. This picture better shows the squared end of the Cooper hawk’s tail.

 The day remained cloudy with an occasional mist. The hawk came and went a few times.

So, I might have more time to hawk watch.

Berry Eaters

I sat, working at the computer. The picture window to my left offers a view of our backyard.

The rain stopped. Bird activity increased on the cistern. The bird in the front is a cedar waxwing and the other a robin. Fruit that fell from the nearby hackberry tree attracted their attention.

Cedar waxwings travel in small flocks, looking for berries to eat. Their call is a faint high pitched whistle.

Bluebird

I look out the picture window beside my computer. It’s a pear tree that’s been dead for several years.

I just leave it for the birds.

Bluebirds show the most interest in it.

This is an immature bluebird,

and this one is nearing adulthood.

They still show interest in the long-dead tree.

I will leave the tree until it’s on the ground and is no use for the birds.

I definitely have had years of enjoyment from it and the birds.

 

Eastern Pewee

An eastern wood pewee, a flycatcher, landed on a stick on our cistern.

Notice the pale yellow low on the front of its belly. It also lacks eye rings,

It sure looks like it has an attitude with me watching it (from inside the house).

A pewee call’s a whistled “pee-a-wee.”

I do hope it sets up residence in our yard, or returns at some point this summer.

The Cooper’s Hawk Came Back

The Cooper’s hawk returned to our yard this morning. It first came here on July 7 and stayed most of the time until the 19th.

Today is August 12th, and it’s back.

It seems to be getting used to our backyard.

When it’s in the yard, its presence reduces the number of birds in the area.

A few birds still continue to visit our yard.

… The hawk just flew across our backyard. I hadn’t seen it all day.

  It will be interesting to see how long it stays in the neighborhood this time.

You can tell by this picture that it can easily stay hidden in the thicket in the back corner of our yard, unless it flies.