A HAUNTING of Hawks

by Susan Andersen - Winterhaven Village Townhomes

A group of hawks is called a “kettle” or sometimes a “boil” or even a “cast”, but, I have a HAUNTING OF HAWKS in the mesquite tree in the front of my home.  No nest. Three of them come and sit in my tree from 9:00am to 12:00noon, almost every day, and then leave.  Most of the time they have a kill or two that they are shredding and eating with abandon.  When I go outside to spy on them, they watch me, yes, LIKE A HAWK. (you must have known I was going to say that)

This beautiful tree, a Chilean Mesquite, was planted by my sister and brother-in-law (Lindy & Steve) in the late 1990’s, when they owned where I now live.

These hawks, in my front tree, are Cooper’s Hawks, Accipiter cooperii. Surely you have seen these magnificent raptors (birds of prey) in our neighborhood.

The Cooper’s Hawk is SE Arizona’s common year-round-resident (according to the Tucson Audubon Society).  Tucson has one of the highest densities of this bird in the nation.

​This medium-sized hawk has a long banded tail and gray back.  Adults have a salmon-colored striped breast with brown streaks and yellow legs.  (kids up to 1 year have white breasts).

Images of Hawks from the following sources: LEFT     CENTER   RIGHT

I probably don’t have to tell you they feed mightily on doves and other small birds.  But, also vary their diet with lizards, rabbits, and other small rodents.

NOW, back to MY front yard.  We have dubbed this the Killing/FeedingTree.  Directly underneath it, we find all manner of shared bits from the birds: large amount of mostly dove feathers, wings, legs, unidentified bone bits, and even fresh meat bits.  Hmmmmm, thank you for sharing.  Biology/anatomy lessons abound here.

​I just looked out my window up into the Killing/Feeding Tree.
They are still there: a HAUNTING OF HAWKS.

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