Photo of the Week: Cooper’s Hawk on the Prowl

After a long and successful day of birdwatching, I returned home last night just before dusk.

The sun’s golden orb shone so brightly from the west, I could barely see vehicles in front of me.

Let alone the traffic signal lights.

Since I was only a few miles from home, I drove my car into our local furniture store parking lot off the main road to wait for the sun to set.

Turning the corner to park my car in the parking lot I caught a slight movement.

I glanced over my shoulder to see something I didn’t expect.

A Cooper’s Hawk perched on a lower tree branch, not more than six feet off the ground.

The raptor didn’t seem concerned with the three vehicles behind me that passed him by.

The Cooper’s Hawk calmly surveyed the area, peering over the vehicles with its bright red eyes, searching for prey in the quickly dimming light.

I parked my car nearby and managed to take a few pics of the hawk before the parking lot lights turned on and the bird flew off to the woods behind the parking lot.

What a nice surprise to end the day!