18 replies to this topic

[BirdJunke]

I'm pretty sure its a RT, just his dark back color is throwing me off, but I can't think of anything else it could be. Took the photos through glass door, so not as sharp focus as could have been.

[blackburnian]

lookslike a Cooper's hawk

[BirdJunke]

Jeez, don't know what I was thinking, meant to say Red Shouldered. Boy o boy, getting old is for the birds!

[Autzman]

I'd second Cooper's Hawk. This one's a little heftier than the one's near my place though!

[Joejr14]

Looks like she just had a nice meal too.

[cestma]

Looks like a pretty puny head for a Cooper's?

[blackburnian]

the head does look a little odd but expression fits coop better than sharpie

[cestma]

the head does look a little odd but expression fits coop better than sharpie

Well, I often find myself perceiving things differently than most everyone else, sigh, but to me, esp. in the first shot, the eye looks large relative to head-size, i.e., sharpie-like.

BirdJunke, to quote psweet:

One useful tip -- the accipiters should be the only hawks we get where the folded wings only reach the base of the tail. Some of the buteos have wings that don't reach the tip of the tail, but they all reach at least most of the way down.

(Coops & Sharpies being accipiters, red-shouldered being a buteo.)

[psweet]

This is a male Coop -- you can see the pale gray cheeks blending into the nape. A Sharpie would have distinctly rufous cheeks sharply contrasting with the dark gray nape.

[BirdJunke]

Thank you all! (Boy I really love this stuff. Off topic: I can't wait to go to Salton Sea this January, or maybe Feb.)

[cestma]

This is a male Coop -- you can see the pale gray cheeks blending into the nape. A Sharpie would have distinctly rufous cheeks sharply contrasting with the dark gray nape.

I always overlook that!

(Edit--It's too obvious! <embarrassed emoticon> <-- which this forum conspicuously lacks...)

[psweet]

Actually, cestma, I think you're right -- it's too obvious, and for some reason the books have all ignored that point (while still showing it) and instead just told us how hard these two species are.

[Hawkowl]

I was thinking cooper's hawk as long as that bird feeder wasn't built to gigantic proportions.

[BirdJunke]

Looks like she just had a nice meal too.

LOL, you were so right. Went out to refill birdbath and looked up to tree, checking for birds, and saw this:

[cestma]

Actually, cestma, I think you're right -- it's too obvious, and for some reason the books have all ignored that point (while still showing it) and instead just told us how hard these two species are.

You're too sweet...( ) I should know, tho--I see Cooper's frequently & often closely, but have never seen a Sharpie that I know of...Which is no doubt most of my problem. Nevertheless, I do have Wheeler's...and his pics do make it pretty obvious.

[psweet]

If you really want to see a Sharpie (or 300), try heading to the Detroit River Hawkwatch in late September or October!

[cestma]

I should! Your posts always make hawkwatches sound incredible. One of those "been meaning to's" I just might finally get around to!

[psweet]

I should probably throw out a disclaimer -- just like any other birding activity, the weather can throw you a curve. My understanding is that the Detroit River usually gets birds on most weather conditions, but I know I've had plenty of very slow days at our hawkwatch. On the other hand, if you hit a good one at Detroit, the totals can be in the 10's of thousands!

[cestma]

A slow day might actually be good for me. More opportunity to pester those who know their stuff about just what we're seeing.

But 10's of thousands would certainly be spectacular; I suspect I'd start thinking about hawks--heck, birds in general-- in a whole new light.