Old Trail, Crozet, VA 12/4/16

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

It was a cold, dark, and raw morning here in Old Trail. I decided to hike from home, and when I left my house, there was a light mist in the air. It reminded me of the air just before snow. I wanted to see if I could re-locate the Merlin I had seen here yesterday. I didn't find it, and had seen close to 20 avian species when I decided to hike over to the pond along the golf course hole #10 to look for White-crowned Sparrows, as they are usually there. It was a bit longer back home than my usual hike, but I wasn't quite ready to go back.

Photo Unavailable
Red-shoulderd Hawk; Hermit Thrush; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

As soon as I reached the pond, just where there is a small mowed path from the field to the golf course, I saw a small hawk dive into the woody vegetation. It looked like a juvenile accipiter to me, but at that point I couldn't tell if it was a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Photo Unavailable
Juvenile hawk

I walked around a bit trying to get a better look, and had to make my way through some tall, and a bit thorny, vegetation. I wasn't able to do this quietly, and I am sure that the hawk knew I was there, but it didn't seem to mind at all. I could see that the hawk was eating a small bird, and after a few better looks, determined that it was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. I tried to photograph it from several different vantage points to get a clear photo of it.

Photo Unavailable
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

The hawk must have dropped a bit of its meal, as it dropped down to the ground and continued eating.

Photo Unavailable
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

At this point I was ready to move on as I had some clear photos of the juvenile Cooper's Hawk. And then, to my great surprise, it flew up to a branch right in front of me, less than 10 feet away. And it stayed there! I was able to try different camera settings, move around to look at the hawk from different angles, and all the time this hawk just sat there and was content with just having its meal, and had no fear of my being there.

Photo Unavailable
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk