1893
April 24
(No 3)
Concord, Mass.
[delete]Concor[/delete] (Ball's Hill)
nearly over the farm she made a sudden swoop at
the flock of hens which were scattered about the
dooryard descending among them on a steep incline
and with such swiftness that my eye could with
difficulty follow her. The hens scattered in every direction,
some flying, some running, all cackling & squalling. Bensen
who was near shouted & threw up his cap. The Hawk
without descending quite to the ground sheered gracefully
upward and alighted in an elm nearly over the house.
Bensen ran toward the tree shouting again and she
flew off in a slow, indifferent way. The male now
followed her & both disappeared towards the westward.
Half-an-hour later the female dashed past me within 
a few rods and re-entered the pines by the hollow. Up
to the moment of reaching them she moved by a
succession of great bounds precisely like a Woodpecker
save that the undulatory curves were actually much deeper
than those performed by any Woodpecker. While performing 
this remarkable flight (the like of which I have never
seen before) she was crossing an open meadow and
rising & falling from just above the ground to a
height of 30 feet or more. The Sharp-shinned Hawk
often flits like a Robin but I have never seen it
describe anything like such a deep curve as these.
I afterwards saw Bensen & he tells me that these
Hawks have killed two more full grown Hens since 
the 21st. The male killed one & the female another, both
while he was looking on. In each instance the Hen's
head was eaten off before he could get to her but neither
Hawk attempted to carry his prize away when he flew.
Bensen is positive that these Cooper's Hawks are the
robbers of his poultry yard & I am now convinced of it, also. 
[margin]Cooper's
Hawks[/margin]