My husband was driving on a nearby road and saw a Cooper’s Hawk sitting on the yellow line, apparently injured. He jumped out of the car, stopped traffic, tucked the bird under his arm and drove home. He found an appropriate box and put the bird in, closing it up in hopes it was just stunned. I returned from the store a few minutes later and he wanted to show it to me. When he opened the box Ms. Coop burst out and ran across the lawn but couldn’t get any lift to fly off. Suddenly a Red-tailed Hawk swooped down on the Coop in an attack. The Red-tail must have seen us as it abandoned the attempt and flew off without touching the Coop. After a prolonged chase my husband recaptured the Coop (we think female due to the size) and we took her to Wildlife in Crisis, the nearest wildlife rehabilitation center. We hoped it was just a soft tissue injury as the wings were not displaced and a preliminary exam found no obvious break, but an x-ray showed a break that would require a three month rest and recuperation. The prognosis is good. She is a stunningly beautiful bird but a stone cold killer of our feeder birds. They may have a three month rest as well. (photos by George Van Der Aue)
A Naturalist's Table 