Right in the middle of Bangor, birding is good. A peregrine falcon is seen regularly, along South Main Street or in the vicinity of the parking garage. A Cooper’s hawk often perches on the girders under the roof of the Bangor Auditorium, especially in the morning.

Jerry Smith, an expert on birds of prey, has been observing them for several years.

“The Cooper’s hawk has been there for at least three years,” he said. Smith and I agreed that a peregrine falcon was in Bangor two or three years ago, but not last winter.

Both birds of prey are watching for pigeons, which are numerous in Bangor. Undoubtedly the numbers of pigeons are somewhat reduced by these birds of prey, until spring. Then pigeons lay eggs, raise their young and the young fledge – again and again.

The peregrine falcon and the Cooper’s hawk have different physiques, and therefore different strategies to catch their prey.

The peregrine falcon has long, pointed wings. It is a master of the open air, flies high and can overtake any bird from above. Pigeons are fast flyers, but they don’t fly very high. The falcon can come from above at a high speed and deal a fatal blow with its clenched feet, then snatch the pigeon as it falls and carry it to a good place, like the flat roof of a building, to pluck and eat it.

The Cooper’s hawk has short, rounded wings. Its strategy is to wait in a tree and watch quietly for its prey. This hawk can put on a quick burst of speed and twist and turn among the trees, snatching its prey. It has learned that a city like Bangor, with many trees and many pigeons, is a good place to spend the winter.

Jerry Smith and I compared notes about how Cooper’s hawks catch their prey.

“I once saw the hawk catch a blue jay in flight with its talons and took it to the ground. The hawk started to pluck the jay, which struggled mightily. Suddenly the jay broke loose and flew away,” he said.

That was one lucky blue jay. I once saw a Cooper’s hawk catch a blue jay, too. The hawk flew away with the jay in its talons. The jay was shrieking, as jays do, “jay jay jay jay jay,” the fastest I had ever heard. The noise sounded more and more distant and then stopped.

I have seen both a peregrine falcon and a Cooper’s hawk doing the same thing, but on different days and at different locations. Each was perched near a bridge, apparently watching for pigeons to fly out from under the bridge. Each one had learned that pigeons often roost under bridges.

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.