You’re sitting on your back deck in Hyde Park or maybe over in Northside, sipping a coffee, watching the goldfinches bicker over the thistle feeder. Suddenly, the yard goes deathly quiet. A gray-blue blur streaks past your ear—so fast you actually feel the wind from its wings—and slams into the lilac bush.
That wasn’t a hawk "visiting." That was a Cooper's hawk ordering takeout.
Honestly, if you live in Cincinnati, you've definitely seen these birds, even if you didn't know their name. They are the ultimate urban ninjas. While the big Red-tailed hawks are content to sit on the light poles along I-75 looking for field mice, the Cooper's hawk is a specialist. It wants your songbirds. And it is incredibly good at catching them.
The Identity Crisis: Is it a Cooper’s or a Sharp-shinned?
This is the big one. If you post a photo of a hawk in a local Cincinnati birding group, be prepared for a 40-comment thread of people arguing. Identifying a Cooper's hawk in Cincinnati is notoriously tricky because they have a nearly identical "mini-me" called the Sharp-shinned hawk.
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Basically, if it looks like a "flying cross" with a long, striped tail and short, rounded wings, you're looking at an Accipiter. But which one?
Here is the secret: look at the head. A Cooper’s hawk has a "cap." The dark feathers on the top of its head stop at the back of the crown, making the back of its neck look paler. It looks like it’s wearing a tiny beret. The Sharp-shinned hawk looks like it’s wearing a "hood" that goes all the way down the neck.
Also, check the tail. Cooper's hawks have a rounded tail tip with a thick white band at the edge. "Sharpies" have a squared-off tail that looks like someone took a pair of scissors to it. If the bird looks like it has a "strong" face—almost like it’s glaring at you with a heavy brow bone—it’s probably a Cooper’s. They just look meaner.
Why Cincinnati is a Cooper's Hawk Paradise
Cincinnati is basically a 5-star resort for these birds. Why? Because we have the perfect mix of old-growth trees and high-density bird feeders.
Places like Burnet Woods and Ault Park provide the deep canopy they need for nesting. These hawks aren't fans of open fields; they are built for the woods. Their short wings allow them to thread the needle through dense branches at 40 miles per hour. If you've ever walked the trails at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, you've likely walked right under a nesting pair without even realizing it. They love the massive oaks and maples there.
But the real reason they stay is the backyard buffet.
Let’s be real: when we put out birdseed, we aren't just feeding the cardinals. We are unintentionally baiting the hawks. In the winter, when the leaves are gone, Cooper's hawks become much more visible in residential neighborhoods. They'll sit on a fence post or a low branch, perfectly still, just waiting for a mourning dove to get complacent.
The "Chicken Hawk" Reputation
You might hear old-timers in Hamilton County call them "chicken hawks."
While they will absolutely take a chicken if you’ve got a backyard coop that isn't hawk-proof, their primary diet is mid-sized birds. Starlings, pigeons, and doves are their bread and butter.
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They hunt by surprise. They don't circle high in the sky like the "Big Bomber" hawks (Red-tailed). Instead, they fly low, using houses, shrubs, and garages as cover. They'll whip around the corner of your house, staying below the fence line, and blast into a group of feeding birds before anything can react. It’s brutal, sure, but it’s also a masterclass in aerial physics.
Breeding Season in the Queen City
Starting around late March, keep your eyes on the high crotches of tall trees. The males do most of the heavy lifting, bringing sticks to the female to build a platform nest. In Cincinnati, they usually pick a spot 25 to 50 feet up.
By May and June, things get loud. If you hear a repetitive, nasal kak-kak-kak-kak, you’re probably near a nest. The parents are fiercely protective. Interestingly, the females are significantly larger than the males—about one-third bigger. This "size dimorphism" is one of the most extreme in the bird world. It allows the pair to hunt different-sized prey so they aren't competing with each other for food while raising the chicks.
What to do if a Cooper's Hawk Moves Into Your Yard
If you’ve got a hawk frequenting your feeders, you basically have two choices.
- Accept the Circle of Life. Some people find it fascinating to watch a top-tier predator work. It’s nature, raw and unfiltered, right in the suburbs.
- The "Two-Week Timeout." If you feel like the hawk is being a bit too successful and your yard has become a graveyard of feathers, take your feeders down for about 10 to 14 days. The hawk is smart; it’s there because the "grocery store" is open. Once the songbirds stop congregating, the hawk will move its hunting territory elsewhere. When you put the feeders back up, the hawk likely won't return immediately.
Also, make sure your feeders are within ten feet of some "escape cover"—like a dense evergreen or a brush pile. This gives the smaller birds a fighting chance to dive for safety when the "Blue Darter" shows up.
Where to Spot Them Right Now
If you want to go out and intentionally find one, skip the open fields of Voice of America Park. Instead, head to:
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- Spring Grove Cemetery: As mentioned, the sheer volume of mature trees makes this a Cooper’s hawk magnet.
- Mt. Airy Forest: Check the edges of the wooded trails near the disc golf course.
- Eden Park: They often hunt the birds around the Mirror Lake area.
Keep your binoculars ready for a bird that looks a bit like a crow in flight but moves with a "flap-flap-flap-glide" rhythm. If you see a hawk with a very long tail and a gray back, you’ve found your Cincinnati Cooper's.
Next time you hear that sudden "whoosh" in your backyard, don't just look for the songbirds. Look up into the branches. The ninja of the Queen City is likely sitting right there, watching and waiting.
To get the most out of your local birding, you can start by logging your sightings on eBird to help researchers track the population density of Accipiters in Southwest Ohio. Or, if you're looking to protect your backyard birds, consider adding a "bird busher" or dense shrubbery near your feeding station to give them a tactical advantage against these high-speed predators.