Image Up Advertising & Design

Those of us who have bird feeders, and many who do not, know the Cooper's Hawk. In nature these birds live in wooded habitats where they maneuver through trees to catch and eat smaller birds. They have adapted well to development spread to subdivisions and backyards, where they terrorize bird feeders and perch on backyard fences. Cooper's is a medium-sized hawk with the classic Accipiter (a group of bird-hunting hawks) shape: short rounded wings and a very long tail to maneuver through trees and yards. Cooper's Hawks are partly migratory; they are common at Four Seasons in the winter and move to more northern climes in the summer. Adults are steely blue-gray above with warm reddish bars on the underparts and dark bands on the tail. The blue of the adult Cooper's Hawk was captured well by FSBC member Gerrie Karczynski (see photo). Juveniles are brown above and crisply streaked with brown on the upper breast. As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than females. Males tend to be submissive to females and wait for reassuring call notes from the females before approaching. Males build the nest and provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge. The oldest recorded Cooper's Hawk was a 20 year-old male. Cooper's Hawks capture birds with their feet and kill them by repeated squeezing. By contrast, falcons tend to kill their avian prey by biting. Cooper's Hawks have even been known to hold a bird underwater until it drowns. Studies show Cooper's Hawk numbers are actually higher in towns than in their natural habitat; cities provide plenty of Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove prey and housing developments such as Four Seasons provide gatherings of prey species at bird feeders. A perched hawk at Four Seasons is in all likelihood a Cooper's, such as the one that appeared recently on the cover of the Breeze. ~ Steve Edelman FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JULY 2017 59 Birding CLUB Bird of the Month The Four Seasons Birding Club welcomes beginning and experienced birders to start or hone their bird identification skills. The Club's main activity is monthly bird walks along Four Seasons' beautiful nature trails, which follow native riparian woodlands and preserve endangered habitat. We also take field trips to local birding hot spots, discuss backyard bird feeding and share information on unusual species and behaviors. We had our first field trip on May 19 at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve near Yucca Valley. This is a world- class riparian habitat with a great boardwalk and nature trails. The highlight of the trip was good numbers of Summer Tanagers (pictured), the only completely red bird in North America! Summer Tanagers are common in the southeastern US during the summer, but are rare in the southwest where they are restricted to quality riparian (streamside) habitat. The Summer Tanager is a rare bird in our area. It is exciting to think that a pair could show up one spring day as Four Seasons' riparian habitat continues to mature and improve. Our monthly bird walk was on June 3 and we identified 18 species in about 45 minutes. A highlight was good looks at an endangered Least Bell's Vireo, a bird that sings incessantly but is notoriously hard to see. We had two singing males and we estimate that we have about a half dozen pairs of Least Bell's Vireo breeding in our riparian habitats. Other highlights included Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Nuttall's Woodpecker, and Red-shouldered Hawk. We meet on the first Saturday of each month at 8 am (note time change) in the RCN Lobby, talk about birding, then we go on our bird walk. We walk the nature trail from the Lodge to the Crooked Creek Windmill and back (good exercise). Bring your binoculars and bird identification guide, or just come to a meeting and ask about tips for beginners' birding gear. For more information and to receive club communications, email Steve Edelman at steve.h.edelman@gmail.com. ~ Steve Edelman Adult male Cooper's Hawk Photo by FSBC Member Gerrie Karczynski Basketball Everyone is welcome. We meet at the basketball court starting at 5 pm on Fridays. Bring your energy and be prepared to have some fun. ~ Richard Hoffman Male Summer Tanager Photo by Adrian and Jane Binns

• Cover