Cooper’s Hawk with Prey – Baby Bird

The Cooper’s Hawk have three eyasses this year. I suspect the trio hatched last week as the mother just left the nest and the chicks are completely covered with white down.

Like close work, the male hunts for prey; the female consumes half then feed the rest to the eyasses. Guess what they are feeding to the chicks? Baby birds, and about 2-3 chicks just an evening alone. At this rate, they will clear out the entire neighborhood nestlings!

This is a female Cooper’s Hawk carrying a hatchling prey off the ground with whole body still attached – An image i’ve been trying to get for years for this Cooper’s family showing the cruel nature of prey hatchlings surviving the dominant backyard predator. They don’t have a fighting chance!

She ate part of the prey handed by the male, then proceed to feed her chicks. You can tell by the shape and size of the prey that it is a chick. She later went out on her own grabbed two more BlueJay nestlings and the feeding continue.