You are spot on with your advice. I hunted with my Cooper's Hawk daily the last 2 seasons and it still seemed like it was not enough for him. We took multiples most days. He was good the first year and fantastic the second year. I have heard that you really need to fly a Cooper's hawk more than the first year to really see their potential. For me that is a true statement.
Very good point to seek out a cooper specific sponsor. It takes touch and weight control just like you said. My little guy is flying at 240g pretty spot on.
Ben your videos are truly a pleasure. Even though I don't have a bird this year or have had one for a couple years its still fun to sed these videos and get my falconry viscerally vis-a-vis your well crafted videos. Keep it up sir!
Great lesson, there's definitely a few things I never knew about Cooper's Hawks or Accipaters in general! It was interesting to note that most of the training done is by using the lure, it makes perfect sense noting the aggressiveness of this species! I personally would rather use a hawk with a gentle touch of not attacking the glove.
Hi Ben, in Mid Michigan here The last 3 yrs there have been cooper hawks nesting and having babies right out by house. 1st year 1 baby. 2nd yr 3 babies and this yr 2 that I can see. I love the videos.
Just today I was out doing cattle chores and it was starting to get dark. When I was walking around I saw something under a tree but I couldn’t tell what it was. It looked over at me and I realized it was a hawk it started flying away with a dove! It looked orange ish and I think it was a Cooper’s hawk but I’m not too smart about that stuff.
Awesome! Funny because I have been debating what I want to do when I turn general and the debate has been on 2 opposite ends of the spectrum. Coopers Hawk vs Tiercel Harris' Hawk. Good content, can't wait to see more!
Saw a male Coopers being flown in the UK 30 odd years ago. A lot of potential but sadly the guy never stuck with it & moved it on. It didn't have the hair trigger reactions of the Sparrowhawk & reminded me of a Harris hawk. But i am told they get better over a couple of years. Its the only one i have seen flown so i don't have any worth while observations on the Coopers other than what i saw that day. It did look very promising.
Thank you for your very informative videos. I really appreciate them. Would you please make a video about what species would be good for partridge and smaller birds that would be appropriate for beginners? Also, would you please talk about using raptors in abatement? Thank you
Ben Woodruff do you have any merchandise my husband watches your videos all day every day he is not at work. You inspired him to begin the journey to falconry and I would like to get gom your shirts and hoodies if you have any.
Hello Ben, i would like to know how can i do with a coopers hawk one month old to train It. She Is not give the oportunity to gets her in the glow. What can i start to do
Don Lindgren they have been referred to as “feathered rattlesnakes” and there is definitely some accuracy there. But if they are the only bird you are flying and if you train them correctly, they are insanely effective game hawks.
i have a bunch around my house. hope to learn somethin'. one flew at me 2 ft. over my head as i walked up the driveway. pretty cool really... they've nested in a pine for 2 yrs. beside my house. they're cool.
How do you deter them from destroying a multitude song birds that frequent my wife's birdfeeder. We live near forest and there is plenty of game - my wife and kids went to pieces last Sunday watching a Coopers hawk tearing apart a live goldfinch in front of them on our patio
It is near impossible to deter them. Nature always congregates towards a density of nutrients. For example the seeds grow everywhere, but when they are congregated at a bird feeder, song birds come in mass because it takes less work than wandering around the forest looking for random seeds. Cooper’s hawks are quick to figure that out too. They learn that their will always be birds at the feeder, and take advantage of it as well. Some get so proficient that they learn to use the structures. I have one friend who gets after year will chase birds into a window from the bird feeder, and the casually pick them up. If your passion is the beautiful song birds, then it is always hard. But even the song birds realize the risk and danger. And they still find it worth it. One thing you could try is making a wire wrap (something with bigger gaps than chicken wire) that the small birds could still get in, but a Cooper’s hawk wouldn’t fit through the openings. It isn’t perfect, but will reduce the number of birds that are caught. Otherwise I just tell people that the predatory birds are feeding at the bird feeder too, just in a different way. Either way, hope you get to enjoy the diverse range of birds at your feeder!
Steven Keil I have tame hacked a couple of imprint coopers and also a couple of imprint goshawks. In all cases it helped smooth out a ton of problems. My favorite age/scenario though is what some refer to as a “family bird” this is a bird pulled at the age where all the young have left the nest, but are still in the vicinity of the nest, and the parents are in the process of abandoning them. This age consistently seems to be well mannered, but still very quick to train and eager to hunt. Short of this scenario being possible, tame hacking is my second best choice.
Hey Ben, Just found your channel is it normal for Cooper hawks to hang around and interact with humans? I've had them hanging around for six years now.
Coopers are very adaptable. Think of them like coyotes. They are skittish and elusive by default, but when a good opportunity happens they take advantage of it. For example, nesting in the neighborhood around people, or at a park where people are, allows them access to hunt. a lot of small birds that in the wild forests are more thinly distributed. Human habitation often has bird feeders which attract small prey birds. And yards that are watered and this have a lot of worms, slugs, and other insects that feed small prey birds that coopers then hunt. By being willing to adapt to being around humans disturbances like that, coopers benefit. Goshawks seem to be more fearful and unwilling to tolerate human activity. So they miss out and have smaller numbers than Cooper’s hawks. But that being said, in my area still the greatest density of goshawks is around mountain campgrounds and mountain picnic areas where ground squirrels and small birds are more tame and less cautious (and often fed) because of humans present. Goshawks capitalize off of this opportunity. Same principle as coopers in the city, but just a toned down version
I have been looking for a comment like this because I have a friendly coopers hawk in my yard as well. I've even kinda helped her hunt by shaking bushes to scatter the sparrows. She figured out what I was doing and went for it. Unfortunately, I have chickens. But she is just so cool
Got one visiting my feeding station every few days, Just so beautiful in motion it's a young female I think. Now our favorite bird, But don't wanna see her killing many of the little songbird but it's natural for both birds.
I'm trying to get a family of these to stay in my trees... All my life they have taken to eating pigeon on my driveway. 2 times I bumped into one eating. It abandoned it's prey both times. After that they stopped eating pigeon in my yard. Now I have a squirrel problem and I am trying to get them back. So far so good. Every morning I come out and it is waiting for me to leave a squirrel. it took only about 4 squirrel.... but... it has NOT caught a squirrel itself yet. The bird seems to be content waiting for me to feed it. rrrrr ... 10 squirrel down and now we have 'a thing.' Any tips on how I can get em to roost? OR to get them to catch squirrel. OR be more loose when I am around >> caz the bird is clearly scared of me. It's been 3 months now, I go out on squirrel patrol every day 2x a day and the hawk has only "hung out" ~5 times. Most times, when I come outside it flies away real quick. The squirrels are very scared of this bird tho, so if I hear the bird I know I can sleep in. There are 3 coopers in my vicinity. I think only 1 is "doing this thing" with me. It must take my gift somewhere else ... Can I make a hawk house or something ? What if I catch a live squirrel and tie it up in a fruit tree ? wow, I would love such a bird to help me out. These squirrels are cleaning me out of my food !!!
