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- #131
- Jun 10, 2012
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This morning an Easter Egger hen was out and about by about six thirty and a Cooper's hawk attempted to get some of her chicks which are about bobwhite quail sized. The Easter egger made sure her chicks were under cover and then she went out into the center of the yard and drew attention to herself, cackling, moving about and just generally raising a ruckus. The Cooper's hawk was sitting on a tall maple tree watching her, when he came swooping down toward where the chicks were hiding, she blasted toward him from where she was, turned him away and he went back to the tree he had been in. The hen went to the cover the chicks were hiding in and clucked reassuringly to them for a bit. She then came out from the cover and seemed to be enticing the hawk away from the chicks by putting herself out there, cackling, moving around a bit, running in short bursts away from the chicks which were still tightly under cover. It worked because the hawk came swooping out of the tree right toward her, she kinda slowly ran away from the chicks, cackling as she was running and when the hawk was about twenty feet from her she turned around and seemed prepared to take him on! He thought better of it, made a ninety degree turn and flew away into the horizon. When the hen was sure the hawk was gone she went back, got her chicks and proceeded to get closer to the house for awhile. When a bird of prey makes an attempt like that they usually stay closer to cover for several hours, but still continue to forage. This picture is of the hen and her chicks taken a week and a half earlier.
