As I was finishing up my walk through Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Wednesday, I spotted this hawk in a distant tree. The first thing that I noticed was the hawk’s long tail, which immediately suggested to me that it was a Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and not a Red-shouldered Hawk, the hawk species that I am most accustomed to seeing at the wildlife refuge.
Cooper’s Hawks hang out in wooded areas rather than in open areas and when I see one, it is usually zigzagging its way through through the trees rather than flying above them. Although I was far away from the hawk, it had a clear view of me and took off shortly after I spotted it. As you can see from the second and third images, the hawk flew downwards towards the ground rather than rising up into the air.
As I was doing a little research on Cooper’s Hawks, I learned that life can be a little tricky for male Cooper’s Hawks—I am not sure if this one is a male or a female. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than their mates. The danger is that female Cooper’s Hawks specialize in eating medium-sized birds. Males tend to be submissive to females and to listen out for reassuring call notes the females make when they’re willing to be approached.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
You’ve really been nailing the action shots lately, Mike. These are wonderful.
Thanks, Dan. This January I have indeed had unusually good fortune in getting shots of little birds as well as big ones. When it comes to wildlife photography, it is often feast or famine. On any day that I go out with my camera, I never know if I will see something interesting to photograph, but somehow I do almost all of the time. 🙂
Great catching the exit. Always hard with branches all around.
Terrific photos of this beautiful Cooper’s Hawk, Mike.
Thanks, Jet. Do you agree that it is probably a Cooper’s? I am always lacking in confidence on certain bird identifications like this one, though I am gradually getting better, I think. 🙂
Lovely third image! I really enjoy how you capture the drama.
Nice inflight shots, Mike! Love the colouring of the plumage too.
That second image is amazing!
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Great job capturing him and flight! What intriguing information to learn about the perils of being a male Cooper’s Hawk.
I’ve had a hawk hanging out in a tree opposite my bird feeders. It has that same patterning on its breast feathers, and a long tail. I’d finally guessed it was a juvenile Cooper’s, and a birder who knows her hawks confirmed that — so I’d guess yours is a Cooper”s, too.
I have heard that Cooper’s Hawks will sometimes hang around bird feeders, looking for an early meal and your info confirms that.
I always know when he’s around, because things suddenly get very, very quiet. When “that” silence sets in, I often can go out and find the hawk on a limb of a big cypress about thirty feet away.
These are great, Mike. We thought we saw a Cooper’s hawk in our neighborhood just the other day. It was perched on a tree branch. We walked right underneath it without frightening it away! My husband thought it might have been too preoccupied with the cold wind that was buffeting it. Who knows? Last year we ID’ed a Cooper’s hawk chowing down on some prey in our backyard. Fortunately, they don’t come around much. The neighbors cats are bad enough!
Great series of images Mike!