Cooper’s Hawk — Image by kenne
It is not unusual to see cooper’s hawks here in the Sonoran Desert, even in my neighborhood. The Tucson area has one of the most dense populations to be found anywhere. Usually nesting in riparian areas, they are not always that easy to photograph. Because of their amazing flying ability, I usually see them flying low to the ground, through and between trees. The water fountain under the olive tree on our patio sometimes attracts a Copper’s hawk, not because of the water, but because of the smaller birds attracted to the water — they are a deadly bird-predator. This time I happen to have my camera near the patio door, making this image possible.
kenne
Cooper’s Hawk (with apologies to Wordsworth)
by Michael Konik
Regal, as if touched by royalty, you light upon the wire,
Surveying the buffet of opportunity below, where we
Who cannot soar, cannot glide, forlornly aspire
To shed our earthly shackles and be free.
You cannot be called a kind and caring raptor,
A patient pedant, with heart o’erflowing with generosity.
Your icy mission is starkly clear: to be a heartless captor
That kills and disembowels without pause for ruminant philosophy.
Yet we who walk upon the land, prisoners of gravity
Observe your single-mindedness with grudging admiration.
We see not a murderer swimming in a sea of depravity
But a champion inspiring our solemn approbation.
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Another incredible photo op! Beautiful.
. . . right time, right place — thanks.
Gorgeous shot. I’ve never seen a Cooper’s Hawk close enough to be able to see the fierceness of the eyes and the details of its feathers. It may well have been a case of right time, write place, but it takes a lot of skill to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to get a shot like this.
I’m sure you know about “right time, right place.” Thanks for the comment.
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