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Hawk, Southern Vancouver Island (1 Viewer)

V

vpr

Active member
Juvenile hawk on southern Vancouver Island.

Not sure if it is a sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's or something else.

I picked two photos that together show the shape, tail-feathers and under-wings.

It's quite small, about the size of a merlin (which I thought it was at first).
 

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vpr said:
Thanks a lot for the quick replies!

What aspect of the legs gives it away?
Click to expand...
They're very thin. In a Cooper's Hawk, they'd be more robust, and in a Goshawk, they'd look really powerful. Also, AFAIK a Sharpie (being a bird specialist) has proportionally longer toes (or at leas a longer middle toe) than the other two.
 
Thanks a lot everyone. Very helpful.

The more I stare at the difference in various photos the more I can see it too. The more roundish head (maybe not obvious in the two photos I attached) also points to a sharp-shinned.

I don't think I'd be able to tell them apart in the field just yet.
 
vpr said:
Thanks a lot everyone. Very helpful.

The more I stare at the difference in various photos the more I can see it too. The more roundish head (maybe not obvious in the two photos I attached) also points to a sharp-shinned.

I don't think I'd be able to tell them apart in the field just yet.
Click to expand...

Hi vpr,

It isn't as hard as you think telling them apart when you see them alive. It is more difficult telling them apart in photos. Cooper's Hawks are really quite a bit larger all around than Sharpshins are.

Read this chart from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation which gives their relative weights and measurement by sex. Notice how much more Cooper's weigh than Sharpshins do. They are a much bulkier bird. The male Sharpshin can be quite small; Blue Jay size.

http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/raptors/Sharpshinned.html

You can find numerous pictures of both species, along with other Raptors, in this excellent website.

Bob
 
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Thanks for the link! It's very interesting and helpful.

You're right about the size - it was very small. At first glance in the field I thought it was a merlin (until I got a closer look).
 
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