The Cooper's hawk population in North America is an estimated 100,000 to one million birds.
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A Life History
Tracking
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In many locations throughout the USA and Canada, the young are taken from the nest for banding when they are little more than three weeks old. In a nest of five observed by the author, one of the chicks stood tall with wings spread in defensive display, while another collapsed at the bottom of the nest trying to make himself invisible. Moments after the banding, all young hawks were moving about the nest like nothing had happened.
Adults are sometimes trapped for banding using a mist net and lure (often either a live or stuffed great horned owl). Juveniles may be trapped using a bal-chatri trap and then banded or fitted with a transmitter for tracking.
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s 67-year annual average count for Cooper’s hawks is 337. The ten year average count is 739 (years 1992-2001). The numbers trended upward from early twentieth century to the year 2005, after which a decline began. The count has continued below the ten-year average for the past seven years.
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| Year | Count |
| 2011 | 558 |
| 2012 | 585 |
| 2013 | 482 |
| 2014 | 595 |
| 2015 | 441 |
| 2016 | 387 |
| 2017 | 385 |
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These lower counts are suspected to be due to other factors in addition to warmer-than-average winters. Their data suggest that the hawks are becoming more urban, and able to survive without migrating, or migrating shorter distances.
Hawk Mountain estimates the population of Cooper’s hawks in North America to be between 100,000 and one million birds. The best time to see Cooper’s hawks at Hawk Mountain is early to mid-October.
Next Chapter: Falconry
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