The Cooper Street Rock stretches high above Cooper Street in Inwood, and on the rock grows a tall tree popular with all sorts of birds. The short street lined with apartment buildings is named after James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans (1826). A Cooper’s Hawk often visits this rugged summit, a parcel of land no developer has conquered, and I can sometimes see the hawk from my kitchen window.
The Cooper’s Hawk of Cooper Street, as I like to call it, is not one bird but a series of the same species over the years. I’ve seen a mature Cooper’s Hawk in these branches. One winter I remember vividly it was sitting up there in an ice storm. I may have a picture.* Recently, though, an immature Cooper’s Hawk has taken up visiting the spot and will terrorize any birds nearby in its adolescent way.
From Cooper Street, the current hawk frequents the nearby hill in Inwood Hill Park, the one that climbs up behind the handball and tennis courts on the eastern side of the park. Sometimes, it gets into a territorial skirmish with a young Red-tailed Hawk, one described in recent posts. Recently, toward the end of a walk, I caught it harassing young birds next to the elevated path that curves around the hill to the Clove area.
The young Cooper’s Hawk was jumping into the bushes and trying to catch some wintering sparrows with its powerful talons. This is the way of the Cooper’s Hawk. They go in for the kill feet first. It was awkward and unsuccessful this round, and it gave up. I was glad to get a good look at it.
At first glance, a young Cooper’s Hawk can be mistaken for a Red-tailed Hawk. Both tend to be barrel-chested, though the Cooper’s has a more slender profile than the Red-tailed. The long, banded tail is its main differentiating feature. The Cooper’s Hawk of Cooper Street has pale yellow eyes, like all young ones, and those eyes will grow more orange with age. Its upper parts will grow more blue-gray.
Sketchbook painting by author. 2025.
*Ah, yes. I have located my picture of the mature Cooper’s Hawk in the ice storm. The photo is dated February 25, 2022.
February Sightings
Recent highlights for this month include mergansers, landscape shots of waterfowl on the remaining ice floes, and a sleepy Eastern Screech-Owl. The days are warming and brightening. The birds seem chirpy and ready for springtime.
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Recent posts
- Observing Birds Outside the Window: The Comforts and Surprises of Birdwatching During a Winter Storm
- A Thanksgiving with Hawks and All the Birds of Inwood
- Easy Fall Birding with White-throated Sparrows
- The Birds for Our New York City Moment
- Fall Birding Falls Into Place: Notable Birds of Inwood During Mid-October
Birds of Inwood 
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