Sparrow Hawk

Actually, it is not a Sparrow Hawk, or Kestrel, but a Cooper's Hawk. Cooper's Hawks are frequent visitors in our back yard where they lunch mostly on House Sparrows. Every winter our back yard turns into a sparrow slum as anywhere from 20-40 birds spend the day feeding at the feeders. I am happy to share them with the hawks as they compete with the Cardinals, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and finches that I am wanting to feed.

As I shared here some years ago, it was also a Cooper's Hawk that ate one of our Cockatiels that I forgot was sitting on my shoulder when I opened the front door. Out went the Cockatiel and down came the Cooper's Hawk. Probably the easiest meal it ever had.