I was parked in the mobile blind watching a few jays and a group of Quail. While waiting for something to move into good light, a squirrel gave a series of alert calls. This caused pretty much all wildlife to head for cover. Ten seconds later this one landed.
Emigrant Creek - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
Habitat : Forests
Food : Birds
Nesting : Tree
Behavior : Aerial Forager
Conservation : Low Concern
"Among the bird world’s most skillful fliers, Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that tear through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. You’re most likely to see one prowling above a forest edge or field using just a few stiff wingbeats followed by a glide. With their smaller lookalike, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawks make for famously tricky identifications... Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
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