D800E, 80-400VR, and the backyard hawks

For the past few weeks, a group of Cooper's Hawks has taken residence in the tall trees of our backyard (we are in North Seattle). There are at least four juveniles, probably a few months old, and possibly siblings from a nearby nest. These birds are great fun to watch, very active, curious, and playful. We often see them chasing each other from tree to tree, or hopping around in the tall grass, perhaps practicing their hunting moves. Sometimes, when I am sitting on our patio, a couple of them will fly down, perch on a low branch a few meters away, and watch me. They are also quite noisy.

I'm not an an experienced bird photographer, but I managed to get a few shots of them when they were resting. Catching them in flight would be tough: there is a dense canopy of trees in our neighborhood, and the AF speed on the 80-400 is better matched for the local banana slugs.

The following shots were taken on tripod, VR off.