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Cooper's Hawk plucking prey



Esther and I believe a pair of Cooper's Hawks continue their nesting
activities over a city street a couple of blocks from our house.  A month
or more ago, one or both of us saw the birds mating and carrying nesting
material, and heard them calling at dawn.  We even saw what had to be the
tail of one of them protruding over the nest mass in the top of a White
Pine.

Lately they've quieted down and we've rarely seen them.  Splash on the
street and a few flicker feathers on the ground suggested the hawks were
still around.  Today, as we walked under the big pines in the splash zone,
we noticed a few small feathers on the pavement, and then saw them floating
to the ground around us.

We looked up, and there was a hawk 20 feet or so high, removing dark
feathers from prey.  Couldn't tell what the food item was.

The nest is difficult to see because the pine is screened from view by
surrounding trees.  Directions:  Charlotte Street north from I-240 to
Sunset Parkway.  Take the right fork of Sunset two long blocks to Woodland.
Go back on Sunset to the fourth white pine from the stop sign.

Len Pardue, Asheville NC