Population status

Cooper's Hawk
(Accipiter cooperii)

The best source of monitoring data for Cooper's Hawk in Canada comes from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), despite low detection rates and some possibility for confusion between Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawk, a similar and much more widespread species. For these reasons, the assessment of this species' population status is considered to be of medium reliability. Still, BBS results suggest that the Canadian population has increased by about 61% since about 1970, with a particularly marked increase in the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Region (BCR; results for all BCRs with reasonably reliable results are displayed below). BBS results for North America indicate that the continental population has shown a large increase. Because the Cooper's Hawk was persecuted and affected by DDT (Farmer et al. 2008), resulting in low levels of abundance at the start of monitoring efforts, and its historical abundance remains unknown, a specific management goal relative to 1970 has not yet been set. However, with an increasing population trend, the Cooper's Hawk's current population is considered to be at an acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see Canada graph below).

 

Population goal and acceptable levels of variation

Species/groupGoalLower levelUpper level
Cooper's HawkTo be determined95th percentile of observed abundance (1970-2012)
Not applicable

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Table 1: Population trends by geographic area
Geographic areaTime Period Table 1 - footnote 1 Annual trend Table 1 - footnote 2 Limits
LowerUpper
Canada Select to view graph of the geographic area: Canada 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-20161-0.52.4
Boreal Taiga Plains Select to view graph of the geographic area: Boreal Taiga Plains 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-20161.4-1.13.9
Prairie Potholes Select to view graph of the geographic area: Prairie Potholes 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-20160.3-1.42.2
Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain Select to view graph of the geographic area: Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-201641.46.6
North America Select to view graph of the geographic area: North America 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-20163.12.63.5
 

References

  • Curtis, O.E., R.N. Rosenfield and J. Bielefeldt. 2006. Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Curtis, O.E., R.N. Rosenfield and J. Bielefeldt. 2006. Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
  • Farmer, C.J., L.J. Goodrich, E. Ruelas Inzunza, and J.P. Smith. 2008. Conservation status of North America's birds of prey. pp. 303-419 in: State of North America's Birds of Prey. K.L. Bildstein, J.P. Smith, E. Ruelas Inzunza, and R.R. Veit (Eds.). Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, and American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C., USA.
  • Gahbauer, M.A. 2007a. Cooper's Hawk. pp. 176-177 in: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage and A.R. Couturier, Eds. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, Ontario.