It's not unusual to see Cooper's hawks here in winter, but the odd thing about this one is it perched about sixty feet away from Christo, the resident red-tailed hawk, and he didn't seem to care. They looked at each other, but Christo didn't move or make a sound.
In the past, Christo (or Dora) has always chased the Cooper's hawks away, as they compete for food. Almost exactly a year ago, Christo and Dora stole the lunch of a Cooper's who'd been hunting in their territory.
To see Christo be so lenient with the Cooper's for so long made me wonder what was going on. Have the red-tails grown tolerant? Are they not bothered by this particular hawk? Was Christo tired out from nest-building all day? I really don't know.
The Cooper's remained perched for several minutes before flying to the SE corner of the park.
The hawk was immediately confronted by a squirrel.
But the energetic hawk showed it who's boss.
The squirrel escaped. I don't think the hawk was actually trying to catch the squirrel, but just enjoyed intimidating it.
After that bit of drama, the hawk circled around Avenue B and 7th Street a few times before flying NE. I didn't see it again this day, but I think I saw it in the park again Saturday evening when it buzzed past Christo as he was hunting along Avenue A.
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