Little did we realize when we noticed the Cooper’s Hawk in our tree that we would be right in the middle of lover’s lane. On Tuesday, while working in the yard, Walter heard a kik-kik sound which he soon discovered was a Cooper’s Hawk in our tree. Based on size and eye color, we believe this Hawk was the female. Watching her, she seemed to be eating something in the resurrection ferns, but what would she find to eat or was she picking nesting material?
A little research provided the possible answer. The male brings food as a courtship gift to the female. Over the next few days, we noticed she was back, usually mid-morning. On Thursday, there were two but one quickly flew away. Who knows what we missed?
For five days, we would see at least one in the tree, calling and appearing to eat something hidden by the ferns. On the 6th day, there was a loud caking and kiking as the male called and flapped his wings perhaps the bird equivalent of thumping his chest. Naturally, I grabbed my camera, little realizing that I was photographing “hawk love”.
This had probably happened multiple times when we weren’t aware of it. Pairs mate frequently during courtship. Males bring the female food which is a critical part of their courting. After feeding her, they mate.
In addition to feeding her, during courtship, males perform sky dances. Soaring, diving, he shows off his white under-tail feathers. Sometimes they will chase each other. These rituals can go on for a month before egg laying. In the meantime, we know they nest within 1/2 mile of mating so we’ll keep our eyes open for the nest, and/or new additions to the Cooper’s Hawk family.
As pairs tend to return to the same area, next year we will be watching to see if they again come to the Courting Tree.
Written and photographed by Jackie Brooks
Leave a Reply