Tweets,

The injured banded juvenile Cooper's Hawk picked up near Freeland on Whidbey Island was from Seattle. She was one of 5 fledglings from a nest near Jefferson Park Golf Course on Beacon Hill. She and her siblings fledged in the period of 7/1 to 7/7. So she fledged, learned to hunt, and dispersed over 52 km within 6 weeks, including the water crossing. Unfortunately, in addition to a window hit concussion she had an irreparable shoulder dislocation and had to be euthanized.

The best study on fledgling urban COHAs was done at the U of Arizona. (Mannan, RW, et al. 2004 ?Movement and Survival of Fledgling Cooper?s Hawks in an Urban Environment,? J. Raptor Research , 38(1):26-34). They put VHF transmitters on 40 juveniles and found that 1/3 were dead within 6 months. Its a tough world out there....8 of the 22 reported mortalities of our banded Seattle birds are from window hits.

Thanks to Dr. Dave Parent and staff at Useless Bay Animal Clinic for trying to give her a second chance.

Ed Deal
Seattle Cooper's Hawk Project