One of the things I enjoy doing with Westside Story is sharing life’s marvels, beauty, acts of kindness, positive human relations, and upbeat stories.
My sister, Peg, is an active and accomplished commissioned photographer. Peg sends me photos of wildlife and other specimens of nature whenever she captures something of interest and beauty with her lens.
Enough of my words. Check out my sister’s words and photos related to a juvenile Cooper’s hawk that landed in her private manicured gardens.
PEG’S DESCRIPTIVE COMMENTS:
“I was able to report sighting of this banded juvenile Cooper’s hawk, which landed in my big Scottish Pine tree. He was banded on August 4, 2020 before he left his parents tutelage.
Before a Cooper’s hawk goes on their own, they fly close to the nest and chase prey. Volunteers involved in wildlife conservancy use a bait and capture method. After gently banding, the hawk is quickly released to return to their nest. The Seattle Cooper’s Hawk volunteers banded 54 out of 190 juveniles hatched in Seattle this year.
I’ll report each time the hawk returns. Bird banding is useful in research and conservation. Individual identification enables studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, life span and survival rate, reproductive success, and population dynamics.
The purple color indicates male. The silver band is a required federal band.”
BACK TO JOE’S WORDS:
The Cooper’s hawk is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and is found from southern Canada to Mexico. They are famously agile and relatively small hawks. The male is smaller than the female. Cooper’s hawks east of the Mississippi River are typically larger than those west of the Mississippi River.
The species was named in 1828 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in honor of his friend and fellow bird watcher, William Cooper.
I believe I have spoken enough about the Cooper’s hawk that you should, by now, be mightily impressed with my wildlife knowledge.
I wish I were a certified mental giant when it comes to being knowledgeable about birds. Thus far, while my words might lead readers to believe I am an amateur ornithologist, I have to admit these are not really JOE’S WORDS.
These are Wikipedia’s words. If you are curious and want to learn more, click on one or more of the following LINKS:
(1) COOPER’S HAWK – WIKIPEDIA.
(2) Seattle’s Cooper’s Hawk Project.
(3) Banding Raptors – Explanation.
Sister Peg, Brother Joseph thanks you for sharing your photos and all the great information including the LINKS above with my readers.
Thank, Joe, for sharing your sister’s photos and the links concerning Cooper’s Hawk and the Seattle Cooper’s Hawk Project! As a photographer greatly appreciate seeing birding photos as I have found it quite challenging to capture images of birds in the wild. It seems that everytime a great shot of a bird (especially raptors) presents itself, my cameras are at home, lol!
**that’s supposed to read “thanks”**
Thank you Joe for sharing your sister’s wonderful photos and knowledge. I would like to see a few more photos from Peg. The Boyle’s sure are talented family.