Cooper's Hawk

Accipiter cooperii

Habitat:

Suburban neighborhood with several mature trees. Our backyard is kept more natural acting as a habitat for the neighborhood wildlife. The large number of small/song birds living here attracted the three young Cooper's Hawks. Their eyes have not turned red yet.

Notes:

I was pleasantly shocked when these hawks landed on the branches right by our deck, particularly when I realized they were not the redtails that I usually see. We now have VERY few small birds and the squirrel population has dropped dramatically. They are very noisy and very messy (bits of decaying bird and fur all over the yards. Yuck)