snippet sport
horse A Swooping Spectator By Kim MacMillan
Center in Lake St. Louis, Missouri in early November 2017, a beautiful, feathered friend winged her way into the in- door arena through an open door. A young adult Cooper’s Hawk, probably a two- or three-year-old female due to her size and coloration, decided to use the center as a raptor bed-and-breakfast. She was sighted regularly throughout the weekend
A
at different places around the facil- ity, which boasts two large indoor arenas, two indoor warmups and enclosed walkways from the main stabling area so exhibitors can show in the winter in relative comfort. By Sunday she had made her way to the main indoor, which was being used for hunter classes. As one rider and her horse en-
tered for an over-fences round, the hawk quickly swooped down to the arena entrance and caught some prey (either a mouse or a bird), then flew into the iron I-beam rafters and had her lunch. Amazingly the horse didn’t seem all that concerned about the stealth attack but many of the humans present gasped collectively, fearing the horse might spook. Bree Chamberlain, a trainer from
s exhibitors unloaded horses and tack to set up “horsekeeping” for the three-day Irish Fox Stables Hunter/Jumper Show at the National Equestrian
Last November, a Cooper's Hawk visited the National Equestrian Center main arena.
Auburn, Illinois, who was at the show with a young Warmblood mare named Emee (who was showing in her second show ever) had a close encounter with the center’s winged visitor. “The hawk was flying low over- head when we were schooling,” she said, “and Emee didn’t mind at all!” As Sunday’s class schedule progressed, the hawk flew
down after she finished her lunch and perched on the arena fence right in front of the judge’s booth as if to say, “Here I am! What do you think of my flying skills?” The facility management’s plan was to leave some of
the large, overhead doors open after the show concluded so this majestic bird of prey could move on. But her visit to the National Equestrian Center during the Irish Fox Show certainly added some excitement to the show scene!
About the Coopers Hawk According to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, the Cooper’s Hawk (Latin name Accipiter Cooperii) is a
84 January/February 2018
medium-sized hawk from the Accipitridae family. The species was named for naturalist David Cooper from New York state. They are year-round residents of most of the United States and summer residents of the uppermost portion of the country and the southernmost parts of Canada. Because their diet consists mainly of birds, they were commonly referred to as “chicken hawks” by old- timers and were often hunted by farmers and ranchers because of the fear they would eat domestic poultry. The Cornell Lab web site had this to say about the species: “Among the bird world’s most skillful fliers, Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that tear through cluttered tree canopies in high-speed pursuit of other birds. You’re most likely to see one prowling above a forest edge or field using just a few stiff wingbeats followed by a glide. Once thought averse to towns and cit- ies, Cooper’s Hawks are now fairly com- mon urban and suburban birds. Some studies show their numbers are actually higher in towns than in their natural habitat, forests. Cities provide plenty of Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove prey. Cooper’s Hawks mainly eat birds. Small birds are safer around Cooper’s Hawks than medium-sized birds: studies list European Starlings, Mourning Doves, and Rock Pigeons as common targets along with American Robins, several
kinds of jays, Northern Flicker, and quail, pheasants, grouse, and chickens. Cooper’s Hawks sometimes rob nests and also eat chipmunks, hares, mice, squirrels, and bats. Mammals are more common in diets of Cooper’s Hawks in the West.” An interesting fact the Cornell Lab site mentioned is
that female Cooper’s Hawks are larger than the males and the females tend to be more dominant in personality. Male Cooper’s are also very “handy around the house,” doing nearly all of the nest building and then providing most of the food that the female and the babies need un- til the youngsters fledge at around 90 days. Though they are monogamous during a breeding and nesting season, they often do not mate for life. There are usually between two and six eggs in the clutch and they only raise one brood a year. Though Cooper’s Hawk numbers had declined by the
mid-twentieth century due to hunting, habitat loss and pesticide use, their numbers have bounced back and they are now thriving, probably due in part to the fact that they
Photos by Kim MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
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