(Which hawk is this?) Cooper's
Late this afternoon as I was taking some pictures of juncos in the grass, they suddenly scattered, shrieking in alarm. Overhead, a hawk sailed past, landing in a tree near the paved courtyard. He (she?) shifted from tree to tree around the area before sailing off again. I'm not sure what kind it was, though: the book says Sharpies are "blue-jay sized" and Cooper's are "crow sized", and this was bigger than a blue jay for sure. Also, his neck seems pale, like the picture of the Cooper's. On the other hand, in the (not terribly good) shot of him spreading his wings and tail as he takes off, they look like a Sharpie's: broad tail, pale wings. Anybody out there have a definitive answer?
Survey says: Cooper's!
3 Comments:
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At 8:53 PM, March 19, 2009
Anonymous had this to say...
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At 8:57 PM, March 19, 2009
John B. had this to say...
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At 9:31 PM, March 19, 2009
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
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<-- Older Post ^ Home Newer Post -->Always a tough call, these two. If your a viewing distance was such that you could reliably say it was bigger than a jay, then I'd go with the Cooper's. Most of the time they're too far away from me, or flash by too quickly to be sure, so I end up saying, Oh there goes a ShinCoop!
Cooper's - the head isn't really round or small enough for a Sharpie and the tail is clearly rounded at the tip (caused by the outer tail feathers being shorter than the ones in the middle).
Oh, I was close enough. He wasn't ten yards away most of the time. It's just such a gray day!
Johh, thanks for the tip on the tail.
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