Hawk help

The wide grey bands on the tail and wider brown bands on the chest make me think this was a sharp-shinned hawk. But, it does look like there is some white at the end of the tail like the Cooper’s Hawks have, unless it’s a sun highlight on a grey strip…Third guess would be red-shouldered hawk. Would love your thoughts! – Blair

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Hi Blair, always a difficult call for me. I looked at Sibley’s, Merlin Bird and my pics of what I believe are juvenile Cooper’s. I end up leaning towards a juvenile Cooper’s hawk. The spotted marks are not exactly like the ones in my photos, but I would guess there is a broad range of colors and shapes possible. Could be Sharp-shinned, size would be the key as they are smaller than Cooper’s. Cooper’s are more likely to be perched like this. Cooper’s tail is a little longer and head bigger… hard to judge with no references. Very clear photos! The white spots within the dark wing color was intriguing me, but in Sibley’s it notes those spots can appear on most accipiters when they fluff their feathers.

In your other photos you definitely have some of Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Dad

Thanks, Dad! I also wondered about the white coming through the wings. I looked at pg 99 of Sibley’s and learned the term “accipiter.” Comparing those heads to this head, I would say Coopers looks closest. – Blair