Hatch Year Cooper’s Hawk Resting In Sagebrush

Immature Cooper’s Hawk resting in sage – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited

Spotting this immature Cooper’s Hawk resting in sagebrush yesterday was the highlight of my morning and even though the setting is messy I like that it shows this young hawk in the habitat this species can be found in. I almost missed spotting and pointing out this hawk because it blended into the sage so well.

Cooper’s Hawks and other raptors are moving through the area right now on fall migration and this young Cooper’s could have hatched near the location where I photographed it or this young raptor might have come from hundreds of miles away and stopped over to rest and refuel before moving on.

This immature Cooper’s Hawk seemed very relaxed, it even closed its eyes several times while I took images of it. It was one chill Coop.

This photo was taken without my 1.4x teleconverter attached.

Immature Cooper’s Hawk perched in sagebrush – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

And this one was taken with the 1.4x teleconverter attached. I like this image because it shows less of the busy background plus the fine details in the hatch year Cooper’s Hawk’s plumage.

This Cooper’s was cooperative but wasn’t active so after a few more photos I said thank you and left it in peace.

I did spot another Cooper’s Hawk yesterday morning but it was high up in a tree and there were branches all over the place that made getting a clear view of it nearly impossible.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Cooper’s Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.