This is the eighth breeding season for old Rufous in his territory of Valley Ranch, Texas.



Follow along on the Raptor Central Blog for the progress of Rufous and Roxie, his mate.

blog.html

Rufous and Roxie's adventures are also posted at http://www.coopershawks.com/saga.html .

I receive a fair amount of email from my www.coopershawks.com web site. Most of it is complimentary, some serious questions about Cooper's hawks. But recently I received my first real "slap-down." I've considered several responses I might make: (1) Ignore, (2) Become indignant, (3) Attempt to educate. But I decided instead to (4) Entertain... So here is the email in its entirety. Perhaps we should invite the writer over to witness a live chug-fest?

"Hello,

"I was searching for behavioral information on Coopers Hawks when I came across your site. I come across a few of these sites on the internet that discuss hawks fondly, almost in a child-like manner ('adventures', 'sagas', etc). Their 'adventures' are hardly child-like.

"Last year, we went through a nightmare with an extreme presence of coopers hawks primarily, with sharp shins, red tails, and other raptors or predators taking a toll on the declining songbirds in my yard. We are trying to do conservation for many different animals, including birds. The coopers hawks were here constantly with breaks between visits varying between only 20 seconds and 4 minutes at most. The songbirds parents could not feed themselves, never mind their young as they were often frozen on a branch, trying to hide. I was bringing food and water to cover so that many birds and their offspring could stand a chance. I had to be outside constantly and use the approved methods to deter attacks since the bold bastards would try to make a kill just feet from me. They would bring their spawn here to learn how to hunt, which I also stopped. It was so bad that I got angry and called US Fish & Wildlife and the Game Commission to ask what legal methods were permitted and I donated months of my life to making hunting here difficult while also dealing with some health issues. I don't mind some predation but when it's constant, and it was, it's too much.

"Have you ever viewed videos on youtube of a coopers or sharp shinned hawk killing a larger bird, such as a blue jay or robin? It can take an excruciating ten minutes to even hours for a bird to die according to some accounts. They are vicious killers, not cute 'adventurers' with 'sagas' to be admired. We humans would be in the same position if we weren't protected with our weaponry and the fact that we've extirpated most of our natural predators. Extending that thought and some sympathy for other living things isn't something humans seem to do. What bothers me the most about your observations is the complete indifference to the plight of their victims. Songbirds are in decline and have been in decline since 1966. Human sprawl has usurped their habitat so they turn to gardens to find food and cover only to be met with large expanses of chemically treated, toxic open lawn with almost no cover, glass windows that they can't see and collide with and indifferent people, like you, who 'rave' about the 'adventures of their nesting hawks' while looking away as they make a kill. And to top it off, most hawks are growing rapidly in number.

"I am disgusted that people choose to be indifferent to the suffering, terror and absolute torture that birds can be subjected to. I was amazed when I observed how songbirds, even different species, communicated and worked together as a team to escape being killed by the ever-present hawks. I never realized how intelligent regular songbirds were until I spent time observing it for myself and this was confirmed when I read findings by experts and professors at universities. It would be nice if you could begin to appreciate our declining songbirds before idolizing the vicious, rapidly growing coopers hawks. Even nicer if you'd plant lots of dense, evergreen cover so they can't pick them off as easily. It isn't an honor to have one of these guys nesting on your property, it's a nightmare for the songbirds that are finding fewer places to live. Food for thought!

"Regards,"

Wow, R4. Thank you for sharing this. It made me think about my neighbor, who has about 20 bird feeders guaranteed to keep the area raptor population close by. By all means, let's invite this person by for a good rat chug-fest. Now I have to go find out what the status of the "declining songbird population" is.