I’m hoping the pair of Cooper’s Hawks that nested in our neighbor’s tree won’t try to reuse their nest. They started terrorizing the backyard birds already in mid-winter, and I saw the fewest birds at my feeders in three decades.
According to the Cornell University’s Birds of the World website, it took 66 medium-sized birds (think American Robin) to raise one nestling to 6 weeks old for one nest in New York.
The hawk pair in our neighborhood raised 2 youngsters this past spring, so that means more than 100 birds (and/or small mammals) were prey. No wonder there weren’t any birds at our feeders!
And literally as I typed that last sentence, a Cooper’s Hawk swooped to the feeder station and snatched a bird right off a hanging feeder. Argggg!
I’ve seen several species of hawks soaring over our block this fall, including a Red-tailed Hawk that was being pecked in mid-air by Red-winged Blackbirds. But so far the backyard birds haven’t disappeared for hours or days at a time like they did last winter.
I hope it stays that way because I really missed my feathered friends last winter.