Cooper's vs Cottontail (last of series)

[Bryan Hix]

This is the last of my series of a Cooper's Hawk attacking a Cottontail rabbit at Montrose Beach in Chicago. This was a very rare chance to see a raptor in action especially with an abnormally large prey item. Everyone asks what happened to the rabbit in the end. What I can say is that while I was there for about 15 minutes, the hawk made several attacks, but never could figure out where or how to grab the rabbit. It was just too big. The rabbit ended up wedged under a bush with the hawk perched above it and a group of crows watching nearby. Montrose can have a variety of birds, including several types of hawks and owls. So, maybe this rabbit got lucky, but I would think the end was near regardless.

Canon 50D
Canon 70-200mm L IS II
ISO 320, 1/4000 @ f/4
Av Mode, 0 comp
LR3.3, adjusted sharpness, fill light, small crop, curves

[Michael Lotito]

Yet another stunning shot out of this series! WONDERFUL SHOT!

[DanWalters]

Amazing action! Great job on the exposure as well.

[Andrew Merwin]

A truly remarkable series of images. TFS

[Kiran Poonacha]

Loved the action here..

[Chris Kotze]

Excellent action captured. Super image

[Duane Noblick]

Like already stated you caught some great action and I would have never thought a Coopers would go after a Rabbit but I guess they're opportunist and will take advantage of any type of animal in distress.

Love the pose of the Coopers.

[Mikko Viljamaa]

Probably my favorite from your series.

Mikko

[James Salywoda]

I like seeing this larger and its some great action captured... I feel sorry for injured rabbit as it struggles to survive.

[James Yule]

Awesome behavioral photo, nuff said