DO Cooper's Hawks attack Gray Squirrels?

[Steve Long]

About the same time that a Cooper's Hawk showed up and started nabbing
birds around our feeders, the squirrels have been showing up with bare
patches on their backs and shoulders.  And, the squirrels seem a lot
more nervous.  So, I am wondering if it has been attacking the
squirrels.  In past years, when I have had a Sharpshin doing the same
thing, the squirrels did not seem to be particularly worried.

Steve Long, Oxford

[Gail Mackiernan]

We had a large female Cooper’s kill a Cottontail Rabbit in our front yard, not only killed it but managed to carry it off after a struggle - dragged it to fence, flew laboriously up onto fence with rabbit dangling from one foot, and then glided off across our back yard (a slight downhill slope). And yes they will take a squirrel.

Gail Mackiernan
Colesville

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 5, 2021, at 3:38 PM, Steve Long <steve...@atlanticbb.net> wrote:
>
> About the same time that a Cooper's Hawk showed up and started nabbing birds around our feeders, the squirrels have been showing up with bare patches on their backs and shoulders. And, the squirrels seem a lot more nervous. So, I am wondering if it has been attacking the squirrels. In past years, when I have had a Sharpshin doing the same thing, the squirrels did not seem to be particularly worried.
>
> Steve Long, Oxford
>

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[thb...@aol.com]

Mammals tend to get smaller the further south you go. Mass to surface area for heat conservation. I have seen Cooper's take grey squirrels in southern Georgia. But the squirrels seem puny by MD standard. 

Tom Beal

[Jim Felley]

From my back window a few years ago, I saw a female Cooper's Hawk kill and fly off with a squirrel.  It was not a particularly big squirrel, though.  I imagine that with all the practice they get, predators learn what sizes of prey they can handle.

Jim

Jim Felley

Gaithersburg, MD

[Steve Long]

Well, something got a squirrel in my yard yesterday, and the vultures were working on it already by the time I saw it.

Now, the squirrels are hiding under things like my air conditioning unit to eat nuts, and not running across the yard like they did a few days ago. 

So, the squirrels seem to have figured out the answer to my question.

Steve Long, Oxford

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[lisawil...@gmail.com]

Yup. And big ones, too. Last summer we spotted a female Cooper's hawk dining on a big squirrel high in a tree behind our house.

Lisa Wilcox Deyo

Carderock Springs, MD