A juvenile male Cooper's Hawk sits on my backyard fence yesterday. I routinely receive visits from several different individuals, and it's not hard to tell when one is around. The songbirds make themselves scarce, and all gets pretty quiet. Interesting is the reaction of the Gray Squirrels. If a male hawk enters the yard, they'll often continue with business as usual. One was feeding at a feeder 15 feet from this perched hawk. However, if one of the much larger female Cooper's Hawks comes around, the squirrels typically scramble for cover. Female Coops are much larger - up to one-third again the size - of males. The squirrels feel decidedly uncomfortable when the big females lurk nearby, and with good reason. The bigger of the sexes can capture a squirrel, or at least make a valiant effort.
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