Hawk ID (1 Viewer)

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pmesich

New member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #1

Found this fellow in the backyard this morning. Can someone help me ID him? Tail banding is straying me away from a Copper's Hawk.

Eastern Panhandle of WV is the location sighted 6/12/09

 

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MLoyko

d[-_-]b

• Jun 14, 2009

• #2

Hi, this one might cause problems but I am going with sharp-shinned hawk. Based on the location of the eyes on the head, the thin looking legs, the small size compared to those poles. It's also a juvenile. The onl problem I have is the tail looks rounded but sharpie is still what I'm going with.

Welcome to the forum by the way!!

Best,
Matt

 

P

pmesich

New member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #3

Thanks,

I got a email today from the Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory in WV that they feel it might be a Juvenile Northern Harrier.

 

bitterntwisted

Graham Howard Shortt

• Jun 14, 2009

• #4

Really can't see a Harrier here. Surely an accipiter, and looks like a Cooper's to me.

Graham

 

T

Th_SQ

Well-known member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #5

Structure among other things rules out harriers imho (wings way too short).

I would favor Sharp-shinned (stick-like legs, ...)

 

C

CAU

Well-known member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #6

If those wire fences are normal sized, it must be a Cooper's Hawk.

 

J

j0hnguy

Well-known member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #7

I'd call it a Coopers. Definitely not a harrier.

 

apbarr

Well-known member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #8

CAU said:

If those wire fences are normal sized, it must be a Cooper's Hawk.

Click to expand...

Agreed, the circular frame is likely to be 2" dia which would make this bird a minimum of 18" head to tail

 

jmepler

It's just a flesh wound.

• Jun 14, 2009

• #9

I agree with CAU, I estimate the bird's length to be 15". This, along with the large size of the head and the rounded tail all say Cooper's too me.

Did the Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory make their identification from a verbal description? I cannot imagine anyone seeing this picture thinking that it is a Harrier.

Mike

 

C

ceasar

Well-known member

• Jun 14, 2009

• #10

I tend to agree with Matt here. Those skinny Tarsi are hard to hide. I think it is a large female Sharp-shinned Hawk. Wheeler notes in his discussion of SIZE that the Sharp-shinned Hawk is "proportionately the most dimorphic of any North American raptor. With practice sexes are separable in the field. Males are considerably smaller than females." There is no overlap in size. Wheeler also notes under Species Traits on the same page that some females (only) can have a "very rounded" tail. (A few have very rounded....rectrices.")
See page 159 Eastern Edition.
Bob

 

P

pmesich

New member

• Jun 15, 2009

• #11

thanks everyone,

I had sent the same picture above to the observatory. It's rounded beak structure and eye placement is what was throwing me off.

thanks!