Yesterday (12/18/05) I was outside getting my mail
when a large bird, about the the size of a crow, flew
by and landed in my neighbor's yard. The bird, which I
thought looked somewhat like an Accipiter at first
glance, later turned out to be a Cooper's Hawk. What
struck me as peculiar was its behavior. The bird
progressed slowly towards a clump of shrubs near my
neighbor's house ON THE GROUND until it reached the
very edge of the bushes. Then, without warning, the
bird lept into the air and dove headfirst inside the
shrubs, setting off an enormous flurry of alarm calls
and overall shrieking as twenty or so smaller birds,
most likely Juncos and Sparrows, erupted from the
bushes and began to assial their would be assailant.
The Cooper's, overwhelemed, was driven off, where it
proceeded to perch on a branch overlooking the
cul-de-sac. Very strange behavior for such a bird.
Haven't spotted the bird since, but my guess is that
it will make another appearance before too long, with
feeder volume increasing as the winter preogresses
(and gets colder!). Until then, I will continue to
keep my eye out for it. Best Wishes to All and Happy
Birding!
-Alex Robbins
Fairfax Station, VA
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