This cooper’s hawk (or maybe sharp shinned-can see the tail ends) was diving over and over in the tall grasses off 3 crabs road. Hope he got a good lunch!
Hunting in the dungeness
3 thoughts on “Hunting in the dungeness”
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Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
This cooper’s hawk (or maybe sharp shinned-can see the tail ends) was diving over and over in the tall grasses off 3 crabs road. Hope he got a good lunch!
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Good timing with this shot.
Colleen,
your hawk today is a Northern Harrier, a female based on its brownish plumage overall. Males are overall silver-gray with black wingtips. They hunt the open fields, brushy edges and marshes. They love to glide close over the marsh, floating in graceful arcs where they hunt small rodents, carrying their wings in a slight dihedral. They have a distinctive white patch at the base of their tail. They nest on the ground. If you look closely at your photo, harriers have a flattish, owl-like face. A Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned would be out of place in this open habitat. They have shorter, more rounded wings and usually hunt in the woods or treed neighborhood yards. More about the harrier here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/
Thanks so much Gary… Great information. Habitats helps me alot.. The pics in the ID books just don’t look that different to me!