Date: 9/24/24 5:13 pm From: 'Deborah Dill' via Arlington Birds <arlingtonbirds...> Subject: [Arlington Birds] another "hawk" story
Hi all,I have great respect for Blue Jays, and even more after today.For years I have heard them imitate Red-tailed Hawks. I've speculated: opportunism? Get those other birds to skedaddle so they have the feeder to themselves? Altruism? Warn everybody of a predator? Pleasure? Because they like the way the sound feels? Then since this spring I've had a resident Blue Jay who has made a repeated call I thought was their very own special thing. Today while I was sitting in the yard, I heard that call, but it sounded about twice as loud and full as my special bird ever sounded, even close up. While I was looking around trying to place where the Blue Jay was, a huge bird flew off my roof and all I caught, before it flew into the trees and started the call up again, was a large raptor wingspan and a long, narrow tail. Cooper's Hawk! Yes, all summer this singular Blue Jay has been imitating a Cooper's Hawk! Cooper's Hawk at the birdbath, Cooper's Hawk in the canopy, Cooper's Hawk here there and everywhere. I love birds. They are complex and surprising and delightful.Deborah
