Cooper’s Hawk At Feeders

Last Updated on January 22, 2021 by Nancie

Filled bird feeders attract backyard birds . . . which attract hawks. In our yard, we’ve seen Red-Shouldered Hawks, Red-Tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-Shined Hawks but what we see most are Cooper’s Hawks.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Cooper’s Hawks at Feeders

Incredibly agile fliers, Cooper’s Hawks like to sit mid-way up a tall tree (occasionally higher or even on the roof) to survey the yard. They can sit for long periods of time with their back to the busy feeders. But then suddenly they take off, swooping down to cross the yard low and fast before swooping back up.

Sometimes they are simply moving to a new perch. But when they swoop low like that, they are often trying to bag their dinner. They love to try and take their prey by surprise.

Birds Reaction to the Cooper’s Hawk at Feeders

Just yesterday I saw a Cooper’s Hawk take an American Goldfinch off the hanging platform feeder. There were a variety of birds at the feeders in this area. The Cooper’s swooped through from left to right. The birds mostly scattered and she didn’t get anyone. So she landed in a tree to the right of the feeders.

Then she turned around and almost immediately swooped from right to left, plucking the goldfinch off the feeder as she flew past and back across the yard to the trees at the far side. It was pretty impressive really. She snagged this little bird from in between the feeder’s hanging posts as she zipped past it.

You can assume that you have a hawk around when birds erupt into frantic flight heading every which way and then everything goes abruptly quiet. The exodus is often when you hear the sickening thunk of a bird hitting a window in their hurry to get away.

Birds Fly or Freeze When a Cooper’s Hawk Arrives at the Feeders

Most of the birds react to a hawk with flight; a few instead try freezing in place. They know movement can draw attention to themselves. It’s a tricky thing though. The goldfinch yesterday choose to freeze instead of flee. That made him the Cooper’s dinner. But I’ve also seen it go the other way.

One day Jim and I watched a Cooper’s chasing a small bird across the yard (maybe a House Finch) which got away. A Mourning Dove sitting in a tree that the Cooper’s had passed during the flight got spooked and decided to flee the opposite way.

The now empty-clawed Cooper’s Hawk quickly turned around and took the Mourning Dove instead. If it had stayed put, it might not have drawn the hawk’s attention. Flee or freeze? As a bird, it’s hard to know which is the right move.

Cooper’s Hawks Just Getting Dinner at Feeders

It always makes me feel a little sad when one of the birds become a hawk’s dinner. The hawk isn’t doing anything wrong of course. It’s just trying to eat what it is meant to eat. And hawks are beautiful birds in their own right; they are awesome to see.

I’ve tried to keep hawks in mind when I’ve placed feeders in my yard though. Birds appreciate covered feeders or those that are not too far from cover – either a brush pile or bushes, vines or trees. This at least gives them a chance to get away when a hawk pays a surprise visit.

Sharp-Shined vs Cooper’s Hawk

While we’ve had bigger hawks hunt in the yard, the types that tend to hunt backyard feeders in my area are more likely to be Cooper’s Hawks or Sharp-Shined Hawks. These two species look very similar to each other and so are easily confused. Cornell Lab’s FeederWatch has a really good page on their site comparing the two, with a whole list of differences. 

Hawk Size Can Be Misleading

One guideline that people often use is size. Typically a Cooper’s Hawk is about the size of a crow, while a Sharp-Shined Hawk is about the size of a Blue Jay. BUT, in both cases, the female of the species is larger than its male. So a male (and therefore smaller) Cooper’s Hawk might be fairly close in size to a female (and therefore larger) Sharp-Shined Hawk. Also size can be hard to judge when the bird is flying or high up in a tree.

Hawk Appearance Differences: Cooper’s vs Sharpie

There are a few features I try to focus on to help me decide which hawk am seeing at the feeders. One is the tail. When the bird is perched, a Cooper’s Hawk’s tail is more rounded at the tip than the more squared off on a Sharp-Shined. (Hard to remember? Think of a curved C to remind you of a Cooper’s tail and the sharper squared off tail of the Sharpie.)

I also look at the general appearance. A Cooper’s is stockier, with a proportionally larger head. The feathers on the top of an adult Cooper’s head are darker than those on the back of the neck so she looks like she is wearing a cap. The feathers on the back of a Sharp-Shined Hawk’s head look like those on the top of the head, so she looks like she is wearing a cape. (But watch out. Juveniles have very different brown streaky coloring just to confuse things.)

Hawk Flight Differences: Cooper’s vs. Sharpie

If you see these hawks in flight, both hawks have proportionally long tails. The Cooper’s Hawk in flight has a cross shape. But the Sharp-Shined Hawk looks more like a double-headed battleaxe because the head is so relatively small.

Cooper’s fly with slower wing beats between glides. Sharp-Shin’s wing beats are quicker. They remind me of a moth fluttering around a light.

Birds Targeted: Cooper’s Hawks and Sharpies at Feeders

Both types of hawk go after birds at feeders. Sharpies, being smaller, tend to go for smaller birds. A Cooper’s, being larger, is probably more likely to try for medium to large feeder birds, but obviously is willing to take a tiny goldfinch if that’s what it can grab. In our yard, the Cooper’s seem to prefer Mourning Doves. This makes sense because these doves tend to be larger, slower moving birds.

Cooper’s Hawks and Squirrels

While a Cooper’s Hawk will sometimes go after squirrels, but I’ve never personally seen it in our yard. In fact, I’ve seen three squirrels run around in the same tree with a Cooper’s Hawk for quite a while. They kept an eye of the hawk but didn’t seem deterred in any way by it. BUT, just yesterday my husband witnessed a Copper’s swooping down on a squirrel on the ground.

When the birds scatter for a Cooper’s Hawk, the squirrels in my yard usually just continue on with whatever they are doing. Usually, we would need a Red-Shouldered Hawk or a Red-Tailed Hawk to make a dent in the squirrel population.

Mixed Feelings About Cooper’s Hawks at Feeders

I always have mixed feelings when the local Cooper’s Hawk visits our feeders. She’ll usually hang around for several days, keeping the other birds on edge and easily spooked. But sooner or later, she’ll move on to hunt elsewhere for a while. Then the other birds can breathe a little easier for awhile.

Have you had a Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-Shined Hawk visit your yard? I’d love to hear about it. Please comment below if you would like.

Nancie

Learn More About Cooper’s & Sharpies

Hawks & Flocks: Predators at Bird Feeders

Backyard Birds That Eat Other Birds

Cooper’s Hawk page (on All About Birds)

Sharp-Shined Hawk page (on All About Birds)

Learn More About Maryland Birds

See my post on Maryland Backyard Birds.

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