Hooper and a Cooper

I love that as a birder, I have learned a few things to help me be more observant.
When all the birds at your feeders just disappear, what happened?

Lorelei and I brought our lunches over to the front window to watch the starlings eat all of my Zick Dough. She was marveling at the tiny white chevrons that starlings have in the Winter (she didn't say chevrons, she actually called them "checks").
I was gritting my teeth and wishing quick death to all of the freeloaders, when they suddenly and loudly departed. And everyone else did, too.

I asked Lorelei to look for hawks in the trees while I got my camera.

She called out that a hawk was in a pine tree, but it had just flown away. I went into the laundry room, which has a view of our "waiting tree" (where all of our raptors hang out waiting for a helpless morsel of food to fly by).

A juvenile Cooper's hawk was nicely fluffed out and conveniently perched in the sun.

No hunting, but it did stay around for about an hour and a half.


There was some pooping:




And plenty of preening:

I love this shot...Coop's have such nice floofy bloomers. Another bird who has floofy bloomers? Great horned owls. Seriously...if you get a chance to watch one, you will be envious of the padding they have back there.



Birds are rather flexible, aren't they?
(All the better to reach the oil gland by the butt, my pretty)

A new species....the Headless Ruffed Cooper's Grouse.


I went on with my day, but as the laundry isn't capable of washing itself, I was drawn back to the laundry room again and again.
At one point, eye contact was made:

Ooooo. Delicious shivers. I snapped a few photos and then averted my eyes (raptors don't like to be stared at)


This pic is thrown in just because it's fun and cute....
Hooper is a very tolerant dog. The girls can wrap him in blankets, or use him for a pillow or kiss him a million times a day. He takes it all in stride.


He can also balance ducks on his head.