The Huntress

Hubs and I were talking in the living room when Hubs said "there's a hawk in the cherry tree".  Being well schooled, he immediately grabbed my camera and handed it to me.  And I blasted off some shots before she took off.  Through the window, no time to fiddle with settings or composition.  This is an immature Cooper's hawk and a female based on the size.  In looking at the photos on a big screen, I can see that she is showing a bit of blood around the tip of her beak so I suspect she's had some success already today.  A shocking number of juvenile hawks never make it past their first year because they aren't adept enough to catch food.  I remind myself of this every time I find a pile of feathers somewhere - a smaller bird gave its life so this larger predator could live another day.  

Cooper's hawks are accipiters, closely related to the sparrow hawks found in Europe.  They are small, agile hawks that are capable of taking smaller birds on the wing.  They look very similar to the smaller Sharp-shinned hawk, also found in our area although not as common.  

I had a PT session this morning which went very well.  I think I will finish up next week although I'll still have to continue some stretching and strength building at home.  And I believe I will reward myself with a piece of dark with sea salt today.

Very cold today with precipitation in the forecast.  Could be rain or snow just depending on the temps.  Either way, not much and if it comes in the form of snow, we won't get any accumulation.  

xo
Debbi