Photos: When a Pro Catches a Cooper’s Hawk in Action

86°

Mostly Cloudy

Columns

by Prince Of Petworth January 10, 2017 at 10:40 am 20 Comments

hawk
All photos by Josh Miller @Millerslens

Thanks to Josh Miller for sending these great shots. You can find all his photos on Instagram @Millerslens. Josh writes:

“I am a local photographer and ran into a Cooper’s Hawk on Sunday while taking out my trash behind my house in Adams Morgan. Ran back to my house and grabbed my camera and was lucky enough to snap the attached shots before it flew away. Interestingly enough, I saw another hawk yesterday over by Manhattan Laundry so it appears that there is an abundance of them in the District right now!”

More amazing photos after the jump. Not for the weak of heart or friends of rats…

unnamed-1

unnamed-2

unnamed

Anon

I’ve noticed quite a few dead intact rats above ground recently – could the frigid weather be killing them off?
- Anon
  
  They’ve probably been poisoned, which makes them a dangerous temptation to our hawk friends. Many urban raptors are killed this way.
Anonymous

Wow! Those pictures are amazing!
U neighbor

GO HAWK!! So excited to see that the hawk community is taking a serious interest in our rat community. I sent in the shots yesterday from the 10th and U spotting, but these pics are amazing. Nice job!
thor

So, how does a guy go about getting a couple of hawks in his backyard?
- Anon
  
  Ignore the needs of middle America for a several decades? That aughta do it!
  - TinkerTaylor
    
    heh, nicely done
bruno

Rats!
jburka

“you lookin’ at me?”
anon&confused

Beautiful bird! I saw a hawk? falcon? on Thursday in Brookland! They’re all over right now.
Sebastian Quartermain

Excellent pics, but that is a Red-tailed hawk, not a Cooper’s hawk. Dark breast band of spotting, short red tail, bigger bird all point to Red-tailed.
bruno

No. No I’m not a vegan. Why do you ask?
TropicBird

This warms my rat weary heart
mvs

Thanks for posting these, PoP! I love spotting hawks in the city, but I never manage to get good pics myself.
victoria

Amazing! Thanks for wild photographers and Dan for posting!
wpk_dc

Shared on FB, great pics Josh Miller!!!
- Millerslens
  
  Thanks so much!
Smittty

There’s a dead squirrel at the corner of 11th and Florida that I suspect fell victim to this hawk as well. Also, serious question, should I be concerned about my smallish dog on when we go on walks? I assume that a hawk would leave a dog alone, especially one that was walking with a human, but strange things happen.
- PJH
  
  If they have an abundant food source, they will not attack a pet … especially with a human present. I would think that your dog is safe. Rats and squirrels are easier to catch and eat for most hawks. They will also eat birds if other food sources are scarce. Now … if you are anywhere near the Arboretum, watch out for the President and the First Lady … they could take your dog! (They are the resident eagles … and this is mostly a joke!) Eagles are primarily fish eaters, but will eat other animals. Again, they are scavengers, so will generally go for an easy meal.
LittleBluePenguin

Wow! Fantastic shots!

Subscribe to our mailing list