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Fw: Fwd: Cooper's Hawk attacked me!

Mark,

You nailed the likely reason the Cooper's Hawk attacked you--you were near
its nest.  And you reacted exactly as the hawk intended you should--you left
the area, and fast.  In his book, Raptors of Western North America, Brian K.
Wheeler writes, "Pairs are occasionally aggressive toward humans intruding
into nesting territories."

I had a similar experience about a week ago.  I've been monitoring a
Cooper's Hawk nest for weeks in a city park.  I hope to one day get a
glimpse of young perching around the rim of the nest.  But this is not a
do-anything-to-see-them attempt.  The parents' tolerance for my presence has
decreased considerably, and I won't return if I can't figure out how to
observe the nest without disturbing them.

I first came across the nest site 6-8 weeks ago while poking around in a
grove in the park.  I was investigating a likely Accipiter's nest when a
Cooper's Hawk called behind me.  He sat quietly and simply vocalized when I
was visible.  By turning around I discovered the REAL nest--it was the one
with the long tail sticking out of it--Ha!  I've been back several times to
check on the birds and have only seen the female's tail sticking out of the
nest until last week.  Each time I visited, the male called when he saw me,
and didn't move.  It was sometimes difficult to find him in the leafy
canopy.

Last week the routine changed.  The male called at my usual approach and I
looked at the nest (perhaps 150-200 feet away and 40-45 feet high) to see
the female's head facing me, her fire-orange eyes lit by the sun and burning
holes through my body.  (She's a subadult, thus the orange irises).  I moved
away from the spot to quiet the male and reduce his level of alarm.  But
alas, the couple's tolerance has decreased remarkably and I didn't move away
far enough, fast enough, to satisfy them.  The male left his perch and flew
through the grove toward me.  His movement was enough to launch the female
off the nest and she dove at me three times in my attempt to leave the site.
She took her last swipe when I was out of the grove in the grassy playing
fields, perhaps 150 yards from the nest.

I take their decreasing tolerance as a sign that their young are getting
big.  This may be the same circumstance at your birding site where you've
birded before without having to duck like a chicken from a hawk (I'm so
sorry--my terminology has nothing to do with your bravery; but that string
of words just flew into my head like a falcon and I had to flush them out).

When I reached my parking spot I looked across the park to the grove and--OH
NO!--saw two small bikes laying in the grass next to the trees.  Two 6-7
year old children had been biking around the path when I was in the grove.
Now the kids were exploring the hawk's nesting territory.  It was my fault
that the hawks were agitated in the first place, so I headed back to the
grove to prevent what might be a terrifying experience for two unwary
people.  I had a macabre thought on the way--I hoped the kids were still
wearing their bike helmets. And they were. I called them out of the grove.
I explained
that I had just been dive-bombed and the hawk parents would think they were
there to harm the young also.  The kids listened and compliantly mounted
their bikes and rode away.

I have no wish to disturb these hawks and will either find a new,
unobtrusive approach or will not visit again.

Kris

P.S.  I also ducked like a chicken from the hawk.  I have since recovered.

> ----Original Message Follows----
> Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 21:45:14 -0600 (MDT)
>
> It was submitted by markraddatz@hotmail.com
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
>
>
> Subject: Cooper's Hawk attacked me!
>
> Email_Address: markraddatz@hotmail.com
>
> Message: I was up at Rock Canyon park today and got attacked by a cooper's
> hawk. Has this happened to anyone else? I was down in the trees off to the
> right of the main trail from the entrance to the park. I was looking
through
> my binoculars when I heard it start calling. I was excited to see it, but
> was focused in on a Lazuli Bunting. All of the sudden I heard a big swoosh
> right over my head. I ducked and looked up to see the hawk flying away. I
> was kind of hidden behing a small tree and wondered if the hawk was
hunting
> something and had just not seen me. I looked at it through my binoculars
> where it had landed not far from me. It started calling again and dove
down
> out of the trees. It came right at me. It was gliding about 5 feet of the
> ground. I ducked and stuck my hand up right as it got to me. It veered
> away from me right at the last second. I watched as it flew pretty far
away
> and landed in a tree. I figured that was a great time to get the heck
outta
> there.!
> I started backtracking pretty quickly when it came at me again. I
> couldn't believe it! The same thing happened. I watched as it came close,
> then my reflexes took over and I ducked and stuck my hands up in the air
> just as it veered away. It flew off about 100 yards. I got all the way
> back to the main trail. The hawk dove down again and headed toward me, but
> turned about half way from me and flew back up the hillside. I'm sure I
was
> intruding on it's nesting area or something, but I've birded at that same
> location lots of times before. It kind of shook me up a little! I tried
> birding for a few minutes more, but decided I'd call it a day!
>
>
>
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