In October last year, I spotted a Cackling Goose among the
500+/- Canada Geese on a pond near my home in Woodbury. Formerly considered a subspecies of the
abundant Canada Goose lineage, Cackling Geese were designated as a separate
species by the American Ornithologists’ Union in 2004. They are considered a rare Fall migrant
through New England, and are often confused with the smaller races of the
Canada Goose. (see Sibley, December 2014, for a full discussion of this
identification challenge http://www.sibleyguides.com/2014/12/cackling-ish-geese/)
Anyway, that’s not what this post is about. While looking again for the Cackling Goose
the next day, I noticed splashing around the outskirts of the goose flock. I caught sight of a Belted Kingfisher but
quickly realized it was not diving for fish, but trying to escape a pursuing
Cooper’s Hawk, loudly rattling in apparent panic. The chase ranged around the 5 +/- acre pond
for several minutes with the hawk appearing to attempt to drive the kingfisher
into the water several times. The hawk
soon gave up and the kingfisher landed on a floating swim raft to recover.
The Chase is On...
Complete with Bemused Observers
According to historic and contemporary descriptions, as well
as personal observations, Cooper’s tend to chase and eat medium sized birds, up
to chicken size. Larger birds identified as Cooper’s’ prey
in The Birds of North America (http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/075/articles/foodhabits) include “poultry,
Ring-necked Pheasant, Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail, Least Bittern, American
Crow, Rock Pigeon, [and] various blackbirds…”
While Belted Kingfishers fall into this range, the hunting
technique here varies from the typical ambush in the woods that we are familiar
with for this species. According to the species
account in The Birds of North America,
Coopers typically rely on concealment and use “a series of brief perch-and-scan
episodes to find prey” but also “they are known to hunt from higher flight,
stooping on prey in open habitat.”
Apparently data are limited, but the account makes no specific mention
of hunting over open water, although open fields are used.
Teddy Roosevelt, however, did observe this behavior. "In the East, by the way, I have seen the same trick of hovering over the water where a flock of ducks had disappeared, performed by a Cooper's hawk. He had stooped at some nearly grown flappers of the black duck; they all went under water, and he remained just above, grasping at any one that appeared, and facing them to go under without getting a chance to breathe. Soon he had singled out one, which kept down a shorter and shorter time at each dive; it soon grew exhausted , was a little too slow in taking a dive, and was grasped in the claws of its foE." (Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. The Modern Library, New York. Orig. Pub. 1885)
Teddy Roosevelt, however, did observe this behavior. "In the East, by the way, I have seen the same trick of hovering over the water where a flock of ducks had disappeared, performed by a Cooper's hawk. He had stooped at some nearly grown flappers of the black duck; they all went under water, and he remained just above, grasping at any one that appeared, and facing them to go under without getting a chance to breathe. Soon he had singled out one, which kept down a shorter and shorter time at each dive; it soon grew exhausted , was a little too slow in taking a dive, and was grasped in the claws of its foE." (Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. The Modern Library, New York. Orig. Pub. 1885)
Eventually, Everyone Goes Back to Where they Were
I wasn’t sure which bird to root for, but it was exciting to
watch.
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