[cobirds] Cooper's Hawk takes Northern Saw-whet Owl, JeffCo

This was one of those unexpected encounters that went by way faster than I would have liked.

This evening I walked down along Massey Draw near my home. I was within a tight stand of cottonwoods and as I looked up I saw an adult Nor. Saw-whet Owl looking back at me! It was perched in one of the trees in a somewhat open position overhead, about 30 feet above the ground. But then less than 5 seconds after my discovery a male Cooper's Hawk flew in like lightning from behind me and snagged the owl from its perch. The hawk took the owl down near the ground in a private yard, where it was not in plain view. This was within 75 feet of an active hawk nest. 

The owl was apparently unusual in the cottonwoods of Massey Draw during summer; it was the first I had found near my home outside of late winter. Blue Jays began intense scolding and mobbing almost immediately after the attack and continued on for a long time.

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO

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