By Dan Weisz
I witnessed a little bit of drama this week at Sweetwater Wetlands. It was around 8:30 a.m. and already getting hot. At “the bridge”, we saw an adult Cooper’s Hawk perched in a cottonwood tree above us. The small group of us chatted for a while and then, as I was leaving, the Cooper’s Hawk flew to the ground near the creek. The hawk was either going to get a drink or to bathe in the water. Apparently the mother Mallard was not very happy with this situation. She eyed him closely as he waited.
![](http://wildlife.foothillsclusters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190705-01.jpg)
The malllard continued to focus on the Cooper’s Hawk who hadn’t budged, but who did stand up a bit taller. Notice how Mrs. Mallard is keeping herself between the hawk and her grown-up ducklings?
![](http://wildlife.foothillsclusters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190705-02.jpg)
Slowly the Cooper’s Hawk took his first step towards the water- not towards the ducks but towards the water in front of him. Mrs. Mallard is now squarely facing the raptor.
![](http://wildlife.foothillsclusters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190705-03.jpg)
The Cooper’s Hawk approaches the water, clearly not near the ducks, but Mrs. Mallard swims towards him as he raises his wings in a defensive pose. And then…
![](http://wildlife.foothillsclusters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190705-04.jpg)
The duck attacks! And the Cooper’s Hawk “flew the coop”! This happened too quickly for me to focus properly but I think you can get the gist of the action.
![](http://wildlife.foothillsclusters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190705-05.jpg)
The Cooper’s Hawk flew back into the tree and Mrs. Mallard casually swam back to her little ones. Just another morning at Sweetwater!
A few emails ago I mis-identified a lizard. The photo below was taken at Madera Canyon and I called this a Clark’s Spiny Lizard. My good friend Jeff Servoss let me know this is a Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard. That thin white line behind its black collar is one of the indicators of this species. Jeff is a Wildlife Biologist specializing in Herpetology with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and he is a great resource for me in this field.
![](http://wildlife.foothillsclusters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190705-06.jpg)
For more on the Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard, go to http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Lizards-Subpages/h-s-jarrovii.html