I had a memorable close-up experience with an adult Cooper's Hawk near Sequim yesterday. As I pulled up to park at the east end of the Olympic Discovery Trail along White Feather Way, just off U.S. 101 east of Sequim WA, I noticed a large dark-gray hawk with a prominent black head sitting quietly on one of the low wooden railings at the trailhead, and only about 25 ft from my truck. It seemed so bolt-still and upright on the railing that my first impression was of a life-size sculpture someone had put there, rather than a living bird. I maneuvered slowly from the vehicle, and finally leaned across the truck hood with my 10x binocs and drank it all in very closely: beautiful black, flat-topped head crown with bold red eye, contrasting lovely red breast, and white rump-covert feathers prominently fluffed out--a very handsome passage bird I presume. Anyway, it finally flew off into a nearby low tree and then on down into the adjoining Johnson Creek ravine, where I located it once again sitting across from me in the upper canopy of a large tree. Fun...when I got home I checked out the BNA species account and photos online and only wish I could have taken a close-up photo of all it's beauty so close-up.

Bruce Moorhead
Port Angeles, WA
bruceb at olypen.com