Raptor’s Rest — Beating the Texas Heat

With temperatures constantly being over 100ºF (37.8ºC) the entire month of August — except for one 99-degree (37.2-degree) day — I have noticed that the raptors in our area have been spending more time in the shade. Even some vultures have taken breaks on the ground and under a large tree behind our backyard.

This week, I have photographed both Red-Shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) and Cooper’s Hawks (Astur cooperii) around our backyard. It’s nice to see them close by and observe that the latter is often slightly smaller and more slender than the former, not to mention the distinct back feather colors. Just on Sunday, I captured the two images here.

In the featured image, you see two clear signs a hawk uses to cool off: a raised leg and an open beak. That open-beak panting is a genuine cooling strategy — much like a dog does, birds lose heat by evaporating moisture from the mouth and throat when the air itself offers no relief.

Cooper’s Hawks earn that heat-worn look honestly, and not just from the Texas summer. These woodland hunters are built for speed, threading full-tilt through dense branches to ambush songbirds in flight — a hunting style so punishing that researchers who examined more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons found healed fractures in the chest bones, the wishbone mostly, in nearly a quarter of them. Every meal, it seems, comes with a bit of built-in risk.

The other image, with the hawk on the fence, was photographed right outside our bedroom window. With only the window panes separating us, the hawk was ok with my being so close. It was as if it knew I couldn’t get to it, even if I tried. It was no more than six feet away from me. I didn’t have to zoom much to capture all the details in this image. However, that moment of peace did not last long.

That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Bird of the Week, Cooper’s hawk, Teravista, Texas, and Wildlife. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.

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• Posted for I.J. Khanewala’s Birds of the Week Invitation CLXXXIII.

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Sources:

• Wild Birds Unlimited, Canton — Fun Facts About Cooper’s Hawks — https://canton.wbu.com/bird-of-the-month-cooper’s%20hawk
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — How Do Birds Keep Cool in Summer? — https://www.fws.gov/story/how-do-birds-keep-cool-summer
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds — Cooper’s Hawk Life History — https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory