Cooper's Hawk (chick)
Accipiter cooperii

f9 @ 1/1600s, ISO:1000, Nikon D300S w 500mm and 1.4X teleconverter

"Cooper's Hawk," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Their breeding habitats are forested areas. The breeding pair builds a stick nest in large trees. Over a two-week period the pair builds the nest. The nests are piles of sticks around 70 cm (28 in) in diameter and 15–43 cm (5.9–16.9 in) high with a cup-shaped depression in the middle that is 20 cm (8 in) across and 10 cm (4 in) deep. Their nests are built in pines, oaks, Douglas firs, beeches, spruces, and other tree species usually on flat ground rather than on a hillside. The nests typically are about 7.6–15.1 m (25–50 ft) high off the ground, halfway up the tree, and out on a horizontal branch. The clutch size is usually 3 to 5 eggs. The cobalt-blue eggs average about 48 mm × 38 mm (1.9 in × 1.5 in) and weigh about 43 g (1.5 oz). The female incubates the eggs between 30 and 36 days. The hatchlings are about 28 g (0.99 oz) and 9 cm (3.5 in) long and are completely covered in white down. They are brooded for about two weeks by the female, while her mate forages for food. The fledging stage is reached at 25 to 34 days of age, though the offspring will return to the nest to be fed until they become independent around 8 weeks. Eggs and nestlings are preyed on, rarely, by raccoons, crows as well as other competing Cooper's hawks.

Pocasset, Massachusetts

06/05/2012