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10.10a In my garden this Morning Barrie ON .

Oh that's a nice one - reminds me of my adults. They really look nice when they have their chests fluffed up like that in the cold.

I managed to get up before sunup this morning for the first time this year (which is the best time to catch courtship activity for Coopers) and both adults were back in the park and making kek vocalizations. They were both either in or adjacent to the new tree along the north end to the park where they started a new nest last fall and looked to be adding sticks to it. So it's looking like they might well use this new tree, but we'll have to see in a few weeks. They might still go back to the old tree.

while vacationing near wakodahatchee wetlands and Green Cay , near Delray beach Fl , I got my first Northern Harrier Photo ,and a Red shouldered hawk .

This morning I got up again early to check on the Coops - and surprisingly only the male was around for a good half hour after dawn, calling near the old nest with single note calls. He moved over to the area closer to the new nest and continued making kek calls but she still didn't seem to be anywhere around, and he finally moved back to the old nest, and lo and behold suddenly she was roosting in the trees. I don't know why she was late this morning, but there were some sticks brought to the old nest this time. So it's hard to tell yet which nest they're going to use.

On Monday I was in the park at 8:30 and one of the adults was perched in a tree close to the old nest, and right after the other came flying in from behind and landed in the tree, then started trying to break off twigs. He took one stick up to the old nest, then came back down, broke off another, and then flew that one directly up to the new nest. I guess they haven't decided yet which one to use. Later on in the afternoon they were perched in nearby trees in the vicinity of the new nest, and the female had a truly gargantuan crop.

I saw a bit more stick work on Wednesday but didn't spot them today.

The last week I have been seeing both adult Coopers regularly, especially early in the mornings if I get up early enough, at which times there is usually some stick work, but other times they are just roosting. But there are no indications of impending eggs yet. They are still spending quite a bit of the day out of the park, or at least not within sight close to either nest. There was quite a dispute with a crow on Thursday when one landed on the new nest and one of the Coopers flew right in and flushed it off the tree and chased it across the park diving on it. I have noticed a pair of crows that have come through the park on a few occasions in the last couple of weeks so we will have to see if there are any more conflicts with the Coopers.

The last three days the activity in the park has been continuing to pick up - on Monday I managed to catch both adults perched on a low branch near the new nest early in the evening, the female was standing on the branch with prey and was eating and the male was perched right beside. I think he had just delivered her the food and from the vocalizations I think I probably just missed mating. On Tuesday morning I managed to spot the female twice in the area of the new nest, perched in different trees each time, but I would have missed her both times if she hadn't vocalized. On the second occasion she was hidden in the branches of one of the pine trees on the north side, which I rarely see them in.

This morning both were on the west side perched in different trees closer to the old nest, and the female was vocalizing, which may have meant a recent food gift, although she didn't have any food by the time I found her. While I was watching she flew up to the new nest and seemed to be inspecting the bowl, but didn't stay long and returned to the area near where the male was and continued vocalizing at him. I think we are still a bit short of potential eggs yet though.