The story of the bird
The Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) is a woodland raptor that the suburban garden has turned into the most frequently seen hawk in American yards. It evolved to fly fast through dense forest, weaving between the trees, and that same agility has made it just as at home along garden edges and in city parks across the country.
A Cooper’s Hawk in the garden is a sign of a healthy, busy patch. The bird that was once seen only deep in forest is now a year-round presence in towns and cities, and studies show urban Cooper’s Hawks raise more young than their forest cousins. For many people it is the first large raptor they ever watch from a kitchen window.
The Audubon plate shows the bird perched on a bare branch in the patient posture it holds while watching the garden from a nearby tree: still, slightly leaning forward, the barred breast at full depth, the rounded tail hanging below the perch. The blue-grey back and the sharp-capped head identify the adult. The cap darkens with age, the breast barring sharpens.
Paper and finish
Unframed prints come on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm, a heavyweight cotton rag with a soft matte surface and true archival life. The surface holds fine lines and subtle colour gradients without glare, which matters for Audubon-tradition work where the cream ground needs to read as paper, not as a white field. The framed option is set in a classic moulding, glazed and ready to hang, in black, white or natural.
Sizes
Three sizes: 8x10, 16x20 and 24x30 inches, or an instant digital download at $9. Prints from $39. Framed from $99.
