Falconry: Secrets to finding Cooper's Hawk nests

This falconry video shares secrets to understanding ho to find cooper's hawk nest sites. This video is useful for falconers, biologists, bird banders and wildlife photographers.
When first attempting to find cooper's hawk nest sites, forests can seem random and daunting. But this video breaks up the forest and gives clues as to the quickest ways to have success.

[@justinwarner7414]

Hi Ben, I love listening to your videos when I’m at work, in my garage, or just doing chores around the house. You do such a great job representing these wonderful birds and falconers. I’d love for you to do a podcast with in depth dives into falconry and the birds used for falconry as an educational tool for bird lovers everywhere. Great job and thank you.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Thanks Justin I am actually getting ready to start a podcast very soon. A fellow falconer friend, John Griggs, and I are going to be putting it together.

[@franciscoalbertosantos2521]

Hi great video and just wanted to tell you thanks for the tips for kestrel nest. Sadly i haven't found the kestrel nest because of the quarentine but the last time i went searching i did find a barn owl nest

[@misterb.s.8745]

I found a hawk nest at a local park here in Seattle yesterday. 85% sure it was a cooper's hawk, due to the small size and time of year. Thanks so much for the video! Excited to keep my eye on these gorgeous raptors this season.

[@johnjude2685]

Great and I will look and enjoy and more importantly not interrupt Thanks for helping them beautiful birds

[@JohnEboyee]

This was very helpful.

[@JeremyThePlayer88]

Wow, I didn't know Cooper's Hawk could make a nest only 16 feet from the ground! That would make it easy for anyone to find for sure! And of course, the nest you showed was close to the trail. This gives everyone a chance to really see how these hawks care for their young ones!

[@RobinASmith138]

I'm on a Cooper's Hawk nest right now that is right behind a house, just above the roof of the house in my neighborhood, the nest is about 15 feet off the ground.

[@parkmaninnc]

Good video.All the same things apply to Cooper’s in the Southeast, nesting near trails, water, etc except here they are typically in pines and usually much higher 50 feet plus. Once climbed one that was just at 100 feet off of the ground. I was much younger then. Great videos , looking forward to the next one.

[@shoaibahmeddevero3589]

And your knowledge was great

[@tjh2a]

Great video!!! Tomorrow I am going to see if I can find the CH nest that I have been seeing for the past few weeks. I literally was standing looking up in the trees and he was just staring at me on top the telephone pole.

[@gregoryh4601]

Hi Ben. I have two nest in my neighbors trees the male goes back and forth between pine tree and a maple tree each given year.( trying to keep wife happy each year)They Love the bird feeders we have out also. The DNR May let us put a Webcam up next year. Thanks. Greg of Ohio

[@illianalopez3155]

Got a coopers that hunts in my yard so thank u for this I live on a golf course & have a pond in my backyard so the perfect habitat! Makes a mess in my yard but I love having my hawk ( got stocked bird feeders for them to make surprise attacks all thru out the day)

[@Avestruzjr]

Great presentation. Now I'm waiting on a video on finding Sharpie's nest.😉

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Kingston Creek in Utah Sharpies nest very late. I am planning to find a new nest and get some good footage. But in the next month or two I will definitely have a sharpie nest video.

[@beresclements2211]

you should do a video on hunting with bald eagles and ospreys i would love to know if this is even possible considering there prey type and hunting style. Love your vids !

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

The Pigeoner in Europe and Canada and other countries, Bald eagles are trained and hunted successfully. Often on rabbits and hares. In the USA we cannot legally train and hunt with a bald eagle. I have worked with them as education birds. They are interesting to work with. I definitely prefer the mentality and form of thinking exemplified by golden eagles over bald eagles. But they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Down the road if I can collaborate with some falconers outside the USA I will film and make a bald eagle falconry video. Before then I will likely do one just in training them for education.

[@beresclements2211]

@@benwoodrufffalconry very cool ! why are you not allowed to hunt them ?

[@jantirpak7902]

@@beresclements2211 They are in the US emblem, it's a symbol.

[@notoriousqueenpigeon]

there are TONNES of Occipiter raptors in Toronto Ontario this summer, including a nest next door to me! Now, I am a Pigeon Fancier. I have a Dove Cote of 25 gorgeous Pigeons. Observing the " pigeons vs hawks" on a daily basis is better than any sport ball game. The Hawks catch rats, mice, small birds, and the lady hawk likes a specific tree for eating her morning meal. Thank U for the UTAH news. Toronto Ontario Canada is a major metropolis.

[@cibernet.]

Hello friend, good day, what is the month in which the incubation of the hawk eggs begins

[@josephavalos7894]

Very nice. I have a question about Cooper's Hawks I don't see anything about them nesting here in South Central Texas, San Antonio specifically and surrounding towns and country mostly north thereof. I see them in winter but they seem to disappear by May, however I just saw a juvenile that was either this year or last years offspring; which if it were this year that would almost certainly be a hawk still dependent on parents. It was definitely a juvenile it had the yellow eye the brown upper parts with the drips on chest, it was definitely a juvenile. Do you think Cooper's hawks nest here in Texas where it hits 100 degrees this time of year regularly?

[@viralvidsrepository4632]

Hey Ben, Could you maybe give a pros/cons of goshawk vs coopers in terms of their hunting capabilities. I'm curious about speed, maneuverability, ability to handle certain prey items etc. Thanks.

[@Hokiesnumber1]

Great video! Ive been considering pulling a coopers eyas. How would you tackle climbing the tree and securing a chick? I unfortunately dont have any climbing gear, will definitely have to get some though!

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

RahlDynasty I usually haul a ladder to get as high as I can and then hurl a rope ladder the rest of the way. I throw a rock with parachute cord over a high branch and then tie that to the rope ladder to safely hoist it up.

[@plagick]

I built 30’ perches after I saw Coopers Hawks flying around. Then I saw an adolescent bird trying to drink out of a pond. Then I found the nest. I think there is about 6 with the parents

[@pakcanhunter]

I love peregrines, gyr and saker Falcons. Harris hawks are my favourite hawks.

[@karelcardet588]

Great video. I just want to point that Gundlach's hawks are endemic to Cuba. The Central and South America replacement is the Bicolored hawk. (2:00)

[@captauron4514]

We have a Cooper’s hawk nesting in our front yard. She abandoned her babies and we watch one by one as they jump out of the nest. We had a weeks heat wave and it got too hot so they made the jump. In all, there were five total and they look beautiful. We had to catch them and turn them in to wildlife sanctuary.

[@shae899]

Do they build decoy nests? I've got a situation this year where I've found two nests under seemingly active construction a week apart, about 700ft apart in direct line of sight of one another. I confirmed our resident female at the early further away site last week. Today, a female (couldnt confirm individual) was building about 100ft from last year's nest in a site previously used by the resident pair. We have had an "invading" pait present since last fall, and until I can confirm the resident pair is building in 2 places, I'm curious wether the invading pair would set up shop so close and in direct line of sight.

[@shoaibahmeddevero3589]

I am waiting for your video that will give us knowledge for coopershawk that how to tame and manne a coopershawk completely

[@CROTNIK-yu4mq]

Make one on sparrowhawks Acc.nisus You are amazing

[@hisdivineshadow8263]

Last week i found a injured juvenille coopers hawk on side of road. I took it to vets office and she treated it for over a week but it took a turn for the worse on July 30th and she had to euthanize it. Apparently it had brain damage from a head injury...probably swooped down and got hit by a car . its piqued my interest since ive read they are very sociable and easily tamed. On topographic maps the ridge i live on top of is named " Hawk Ridge" due to a large concentration of red tailed and coopers hawks that live there. Im considering trapping one and keeping it. Im a avid bird lover, animal lover and would have no problem devoting time and energy to care for it and keep it entertained and happy and healthy. I guess ill get a falconry license and permit as a reason to keep one. Can you recommend any literature or websites that would be useful to a new falcon owner?

[@carlobrigante4764]

Hey. So today, 5/5, a birding friend told me she thinks she saw a nesting Cooper hawk. I went to the site and there she was, chasing multiple blue jays. She flew them off and started breaking sticks off the tree. She's got a nice nest in a tall tree covered in ivy. It's a suburban park with lots of streams and lakes.

[@GURWINDER_RAI]

Do all accipiters make their own nest and every year a new one? Near my house in Fields there was a nest of shikras(last year) but there is one pair at the very moment which seems to be not making any nest.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Gurwinder Rai most accipiters have a grove they like or a small canyon that they claim. Within that area they have several nest spots they like. From year to year they switch spots. They may use the same nest every year, or rotate every year, or any combination in between. If they use a nest that was used the year before or in previous years, they will add to it. They are not constructed very sturdy and eventually fall down.

[@Dreambikerider250]

I need to find one

[@karltrudd5268]

Hey Ben, I am actually a local falconer looking to trap a passage coops this summer do you know of any active coopers hawk nests in the area of utah county more or less where I could trap as the birds become family birds?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Karl Trudd happy to help. Most of the nests I follow are in the salt lake valley. But that’s not far. Send me a PM and we can make it happen.

[@karltrudd5268]

@@benwoodrufffalconry Not quite sure how to do that

[@learner9229]

Hi Ben, Will I be able to catch a young kestrel from low tree branch? or I need to trap it? It seems doable but I want to make sure I will not hurt the bird on the process. Should I try to catch or set a trap instead? I've been watching it for a few days and it cannot fly that much yet. He will be my first bird as falconry. Any tips will be a great help. Thanks and more power.

[@learner9229]

Should I wait until its night? before trying to catch it?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Max_Dragoon kestrels grow extremely quickly and can gain the ability to fly almost overnight. But their parents keep them well fed so they are not as eager to come down to a trap at this age. It is easier to try to climb up yourself at this age if it is not flying yet. Doing it at night if it is possible, is definitely helpful

[@learner9229]

@@benwoodrufffalconry thanks. i wasn't able to catch that one but I noticed they seem to be nesting on the ceiling of the villa. I will try to trap one or wait for the next youngsters to show. I noticed they seem to go in pairs. what is the best way for me to trap young kernel when they are starting to test their wings?

[@davisleo9339]

What about the broad wing Hawks

[@samf137]

Haha, I tried to prune a maple tree with a Cooper’s hawk nest. They sure didn’t want me up there. I can’t imagine going up to the nest, I think they might actually hit you.

[@Devin_Stromgren]

I have a pair nesting in a hole in the wall of the shop on my farm, for the second year in a row.

[@AkkuAkbar-tg7iz]

I have got one cooper, s hawk semi adult but it doesn't take any food (raw fish, meet) can anyone help me to solve, it's getting tinner and week

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Akku Akbar motorlife a Cooper’s hawk really needs bird meat. They don’t eat fish in the wild, so he might be refusing food because of the type of meat. But more information would help. Is the bird injured, is it already trained?

[@AkkuAkbar-tg7iz]

Ben Woodruff brother,actually a friend of mine gave me the bird by saying that he got the bird from his yard ,I can’t see any injury but it is frightened and showing a wild character,even it doesn’t open it’s mouth for handfeeding and doesn’t take food itself.its getting week itself.if i let it free it can’t resist 😪

[@AkkuAkbar-tg7iz]

Ben Woodruff I don’t know whether the bird is a baby , bt it won’t show any attitude for taking food anyway, in india this birds are really rare and nobody can help me in this .