I've posted a pair of Cooper's hawks building a nest here before, along with one defending territory at my local spot in Tucson. About a month ago, one of the pair disappeared and the other showed up injured, nursing a very tender leg. initially, a friend and I weren't sure which of the pair perished, and we were unsure of its ability to survive as it seemingly couldn't hunt. A week or so after the events, a new bird showed up and the survivor and the new bird started pairing up. The new bird brought the injured bird food and as the two became a couple, and the injured bird became stronger we realized the male had survived, and the new bird was an immature (second year) female. The two have paired up and are building up a new nest (the one used last year by the male and his old mate), allowing me quite an intimate look at the process.
OM-1 M.150-400mm F4.5 + MC-14 lens 428mm f/6.3 1/640s 5000 ISO 0.0 EV
the male cruising for sticks
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/5.6 1/4000s 1250 ISO 0.0 EV
OM-1 M.150-400mm F4.5 TC + MC-14 lens 700mm f/8.0 1/640s 4000 ISO 0.0 EV
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/7.1 1/4000s 8000 ISO 0.0 EV
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/5.6 1/3200s 2500 ISO +0.3 EV
Collecting nest building material
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/5.6 1/2500s 6400 ISO 0.0 EV
Food exchange
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1250s 4000 ISO +0.7 EV
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/5.6 1/5000s 1250 ISO 0.0 EV
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 lens 400mm f/5.6 1/3200s 1250 ISO 0.0 EV
OM-1 M.150-400mm F4.5 + MC-14 lens 428mm f/6.3 1/2500s 12800 ISO +1.3 EV
The male leaves the nest as the female looks on.
OM-1 OLYMPUS M.150-400mm F4.5 TC lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1250s 5000 ISO +0.3 EV
OM-1 M.150-400mm F4.5 + MC-14 lens 560mm f/6.3 1/1250s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV
