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The Goshawk Strikes Again! Or maybe it was a Cooper

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upstatenybowyer:
So I was in a classroom the other day, teaching a lesson about wilderness survival, when to my astonishment I look out the window and watch this massive bird swoop down out of nowhere, grab a sparrow, and perch itself directly outside the classroom window. It proceeded to devour its unsuspecting prey while 22 5th graders (and a memorized teacher) looked on in awe.

Here are 5 pictures in succession of the feast...

upstatenybowyer:
last 2...

DC:
Great pictures!! That's an immature Gos or it could also be a large female Coopers hawk. You can tell it's immature by the broad banding on the breast. The immature coloring is very close in Accipiters and the females are about a third larger than the males. And a Gos is about a third larger than a Coopers so you can get an even transition of size between species. A Sharp shinned Hawk carries the size difference farther down.

Pat B:
Very cool and what a great lesson on survival for your 5th graders.
 I'm ADD(before they knew what ADD was) and I remember when I was in grammar school I could tell you all about the pigeons on the roof next door more than what was going on in the classroom.

Hawkdancer:
Very neat!  Definitely, lesson in survival and the  workings of the food chain!
Hawkdancer

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