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DEAR JOAN: An extensive wooded area is behind the house here with a 7-foot high wire fence separator, topped with wood rails. Up to eight squirrels continually root through the brush for oak nuts.
I looked out one morning and saw a pile of broken branches with leaves on top of the fence rail. Nothing unusual, as there are lots of trees and brush that constantly shed debris.
I was only 15 feet away looking down, but something didn’t look right. Suddenly, the bunch of leaves swept downwards toward the nearest squirrel and transformed into a very large Cooper’s hawk. The squirrel became aware and dashed into the thick brush, but the hawk closed up tight and went full blast into the bushes right after that squirrel.
Within seconds, he dragged it out. In the next second, he lifted it up and away, and on his way to clear the fence, he reached down and expertly and instantly tore out the squirrel’s throat. That hawk’s talons were so large they completely encircled the plump squirrel.
This seems like pretty intelligent hunting behavior, lying in wait camouflaged as tree debris, only a few feet from prey. That hawk’s feathers were splayed out in disarray and he had pressed himself flatly onto the wood rail, to simulate a broken branch of leaves. Is this more common than we know?
Jim Fishman, Dublin
DEAR JIM: Raptors on the hunt for prey can be surprisingly stealthy. I don’t think the hawk built a blind for itself, but it certainly would take advantage of a collection of branches and leaves that happened to be there.
We often think about hawks circling above and then diving down to grab its prey, but many are perch hunters, picking an unobtrusive spot, sometimes shielding itself in shrubs, trees or under a canopy of branches, and waiting for an opportune moment, which in this case the unfortunate squirrel provided.
I’m not sure the hawk in question was a Cooper’s. They are about the size of a crow and their preferred choice of prey are small birds. They will take small squirrels, but it’s not as common. Based on the description of size and how it killed the squirrel, I think it might have been a red-tailed hawk.
The red-tailed is significantly larger than the Cooper’s, even though the Cooper’s is the more common hawk spotted in backyards. The red-tailed likes larger spaces, but as you have a large, wooded area behind your home, the red-tailed would find that inviting.
If it was a Cooper’s hawk, it was most likely a female, which like most raptors, is larger than the male.
Halloween and autumn pictures
Our online slideshow this month is all about the fun October brings — autumn leaves, pumpkin patches, scarecrows, Indian corn and, of course, pets in costume. Send us your pictures of pets dressed for Halloween or enjoying the fall, and I’ll include them in our slideshow.
Email the pictures to jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com. Include your name, your pet’s name and a little about what’s going on in the photo. You also can upload them on our website.
