Banding Cooper's Hawks - The Urban Hawk

A few weeks ago I went out to catch a Cooper's Hawk.

We ended up catching five.

The Cooper's Hawk is the most common raptor in the Victoria area. Only about the size of a crow, this hawk can often be seen flying over city parks and sidewalks.

Unlike some raptors, like the Northern goshawk, the Cooper's Hawk actually prefers the urban habitat, because our yards, playing fields, gardens, back alleys and rooftops provide an ideal habitat to catch starlings, sparrows, rabbits a rats.

Andy Stewart is the Cooper's Hawk Guru. A retired Ministry of Environment biologist, Stewart started researching Cooper's Hawks as a hobby 14 years ago. And he discovered something incredible - Cooper's Hawks breed very well in the city. So well, that by this year there are at least 28 Cooper's Hawk nests in the city, with all of these nest bearing between three and five chicks.


These are picture of 18 day-old Cooper's Hawks. They are about the size of a rabbit, fluffy, and completely helpless. That was two weeks ago. Now these little demons would be fully feathered, active and very aggressive. And told me that if I was able to hold a fledging hawk, the bird would rip into my hand, attack my face and try to ruin my day.


But when I did this piece for CBC, these little birds made a peep. That's because when a chick is 30-metres up in a nest, the less it moves and the less sound it makes will help hide them from predators.

But not researchers.

Fourteen years into his "hobby," Stewart has found that Cooper's Hawks are breeding fast, successfully, and the population in on the rise.

However, not everything in the city is great - over 40% of dead hawks found died after flying into windows. And traffic hitting hawks on the ground near roadkill doesn't help either.

Stewart is optimistic about the species population, and with his banding of dozens and dozens of birds each year, he knows that there is more to find out about this hawk that is called "The Urban Bird."

Listen to this tape to find out more.