Cooper's Hawk flies under Red Tail radar in West Carson City
A greater variety of birds of prey can be seen this time of year in the Carson City area, including the Cooper's Hawk, a diminutive cousin to the larger Red Tail Hawk.
I have been observing the Cooper's Hawks hanging back behind Red Tails and oftentimes swooping in to clean up what the larger birds leave after a meal.
While I have seen more Cooper's Hawks lately, I have not been able to locate Cooper, their namesake.
I'm still looking for him or her, likely no relation to D.B., who hijacked a passenger liner in Seattle, WA, before disappearing from the plane somewhere between Portland, Oregon and Reno, Nevada in Nov. 1971.
In the mean time, church doors should welcome these beautiful feathered creatures, if for no other reason than because they keep the Sabbath holy. They are birds of "pray" after all.