Learning to Rule within the Rules

A young hawk's ascent to mastery of the air proceeds through many small sorties. Its long tail and relatively narrow wings place it in the accipiter group that specializes in chasing and catching other birds in flight. Those anatomical features make it fast and maneuverable even through trees in woodlands.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

By late fall it is on its own to choose and survey its domain from a hunting perch.

The hawk and the crow

The Cooper's Hawk's prowess as a predator incites hostilities from competitors and victims. It has to keep an eye out for burly antagonists with an inborn resentment of all raptors.

In flight

A promising flock of starlings appeared nearby. The hawk went up to reconnoiter.

The hawk pursuing starlings

After a quick evaluation it chased after them with strong steady wingbeats.

The hawk closing on the flock of starlings

It gamely pursued the starlings but wasn't quite able to single out a target.

The crow returns

The young hawk returned unfulfilled to its perch. The crow, which had departed from its summit perhaps for a better view of the proceedings, came back to harass the empty-clawed hunter.

Eviction by intimidation

The hawk dropped down into shrubbery by the parking lot to escape the bullying, presumably glimpsing opportunity in the understory where sparrows often scratch for food in the litter.

Overcoming one antipathy for another

Its focus, or hunger, was singular enough to set up operations in the human zone and afford an unusually close look to the camera man about to depart in his car after an otherwise uneventful ramble in the Park.

Scanning the ground for prey

Every day in its young life the juvenile hawk has to solve the problems of survival. It carries a marvelous endowment for success, and is constantly tested by challenges. With every encounter it sharpens its skills and judgment. It learns and adapts the rules that have brought its forebears to mastery of their aerial hunting niche.