Hawks of Buzzards Bay
The Wampanoag name for Buzzards Bay was Poughkeeste, which may mean "where the waters open out.” Bartholomew Gosnold, the privateer who led the 1602 European expedition to Cape Cod, named the bay “Gosnold's Hope”. Later around 1621 the bay was renamed Buzzards Bay by colonists who saw ospreys near the shore and called them buzzards.
Mattapoisett is located on the west side of the Buzzards Bay. It is home to at least seventy different species of birds including many hawks. Here are some that visit us at Beacon Studios.
The Osprey
Ospreys summer in Mattapoisett from March through October. They form breeding pairs and nest in high trees and nesting posts near the harbor and beaches.
They are made to catch fish.
The osprey, a master of its domain, hovers gracefully above the shimmering surface of the water, keenly focused on its target below. Its sharp eyes scan the depths, searching for the silvery shapes of menhaden, a favored prey. With wings outstretched, the bird remains suspended in the air, a silhouette against the bright blue sky.
They cruise 100 feet above the shallows and harbor following menhaden. The schooling menhaden, dart nervously underneath, unaware of the predator's presence. When their prey nears the surface, they hover in place.
The sheer intensity of the osprey's gaze reflects its determination, a silent promise of precision and skill. Suddenly, with a powerful thrust of its wings, the osprey dives toward the water.
Approaching the water their feet reach down hitting first then gripping their prey with their opposing talons.
In this moment of action, nature displays the timeless dance between predator and prey, a reminder of the delicate balance in the ecosystem.
Often an Osprey will struggle to lift a big menhaden out of the water as they try to take flight. Seagulls will gang up try to steal their prize. Once airborne with their package secure, the osprey returns to the nest to feed their young.
The Rough-Legged Hawk
Rough-legged hawks are arctic tundra breeders but often move south to Massachusetts in the winter. They are a large, chunky bird with broad wings, a bold tail, and full feathers on its upper legs.
Just off our upper deck a Rough-legged Hawk perched atop a tupelo tree getting ready to take flight. Its feathers are fluffed against the chill of the winter morning.
These overwintering birds prefer habitat of large, open fields marshes, and dunes. Rough-legged Hawk can sometimes eat while flying, particularly when hovering in the air while hunting small mammals like voles and mice. It will capture its prey on the ground and then maneuver to swallow it while still airborne, often without needing to land on a perch first; this behavior is considered unique among larger hawks.
With its striking plumage and notable wingspan, the rough-legged hawk launches from the gnarled branches of a tupelo tree as sunlight began to pierce through the veil of pale clouds.
Red Tailed Hawk
This red-tailed hawk is majestically perched on the top of one of our cedar trees on a frigid January morning. Its puffed-up feathers prominently stand out against the bright and invigorating light of the early day.
Overlooking our front gardens and next to the Pico Beach salt marsh, is a stand of mature cedar trees. The top of these cedars serve as a remarkable perch for hawks to watch for potential prey. Mice, voles, squirrels, rabbits, and sometimes birds form the main diet of Red-tailed Hawks.
If you look closely at the eye in the above image, you can see it is cloudy. That is the nictitating membrane protecting the pupil of the raptor.
The clear-eyed, piercing stare of this hawk captures your attention.
You can tell this Red-tailed Hawk is a juvenile. Adults have reddish tails, while juveniles have brownish, striped tails.
Although these images are somewhat monochromatic, the sunlit backlighting really helps make them pop.
They were were captured from inside the house through hurricane glass. The Sony RX 10 IV zoomed to 500 mm provided a closeup image at 200 feet away.
Cooper’s Hawk
Among the bird world's most skillful fliers, Cooper's Hawks are common woodland hawks that tear through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. They are known as bold and aggressive predators.
This Cooper's Hawk was on top of a cedar next to the marsh by our front gardens. As soon as it spotted me it took flight.
Cooper’s hawks have a bluish-black backs and wings. Their bodies and undersides and can be brown, gray, white, and yellow. You can tell this is a young adults by the color of its eyes. Their eye color changes from bluish-gray in nestlings, to yellow, in young adults and then to red in older adults.
This beautiful image is of a nesting pair of mourning doves. They would wake me up at dawn with their soft cooing outside my window. The male is on the right. It’s just a little larger, has a slightly pink crown and breast feathers. Not bothered by humans, Mourning doves are known for being gentle, affectionate, and loyal. They mate for life.
Unfortunately, this pair of mourning doves were easy prey for an aggressive Cooper’s hawk. They day after I took this shot a cooper’s hawk attacked and ate both doves. Nature can often be incredibly cruel in the way it unfolds. It exhibits a stark indifference to the struggles of living beings.
A mature cooper’s hawk eating the mourning dove that it grabbed off our deck. This made for a very difficult shot. It was half way up an oak tree well hidden by branches. I was able to isolate the hawk by carefully setting the focus and f-stop which blurred out the branches in between the lens and the subject.
Notice the red eye. To me it makes the hawk look evil.