When I walk by our back windows I usually glance out, and sometimes stop, to see what’s going on.
On our patio, about 20 ft from the door, I have a 15-20 inch water bath on a table.
About an hour ago, I glanced outside and, to my surprise, there was a Cooper’s Hawk, with wings spread and tail flared, about 2 ft from the bath. I’m not sure if it was going for a bird at the bath or just landing to sample the water. It didn’t land and immediately turned and flew into the nearby tree line. I backed well away from the door, grabbed my camera and waited to see if it would come to the bath - no luck!
I still have the image of that closeup view of the wings spread and tail flared - wow, really cool!
Dan Getman, Kirksville, northeast MO
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The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum
