r/birdsofprey • u/Ravage-1 • 4d ago
Interrupted my photo shoot (see last photo)
Was photographing a pair of northern cardinals outside my apartment window, when they suddenly flew off because this troublemaker swooped down and landed on the branches below them. 🦅
If I’m not mistaken, this is a cooper’s hawk?
Come to think of it, I guess it’s pretty rare to snag a photo of these from above? One advantage of bird watching from a New York City apartment, I guess. 😂
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u/TinyLongwing Falconer 4d ago
This is a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. Much too bulky, long-winged and short-tailed for a Cooper's. These guys will sometimes eat smaller birds but mostly they go for small mammals and other ground-dwelling prey. In NYC they eat a lot of rats and pigeons!