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Bird of Prey - Cornwall, ON (1 Viewer)

Gillian_M

Birding since 2006!
This bird was perching on the rail of a boardwalk in Cooper's Marsh, Cornwall with a Juvenile Northern Harrier. I had assumed they were both harriers (they were the same size), but the juvenile truly looked like a Northern Harrier, with distinctive facial disks (see last photo), while this one doesn't quite have the same look. Is it because it's a female (based on the brown colouring) or something else entirely? I've just never seen a harrier close up before in any plumage!

Thanks for your help!
 

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I can say for sure it is not a harrier. After that it looks mostly like a broadwinged hawk I think. It lacks the barring on the secondaries of a red-shouldered and has a relatively clear central breast. It also shows dark malar areas which is again good for broadwing. The things that bother me are the legs, which look a little long and the wings that look a little short. I decided that the crazy long leg in the third photo is actually a stem.

Did you get a good look at the tail at all? It looks widely banded in that third shot, which if real, is confusing.

Scott
 
Some dark barring on the secondaries, lots of white dots on the upperparts, very pale looking iris and the wings looks very short compared to the average Buteo.
Why do I gett Accipiter feel on this one - even if the malar streak and supersilium is quite obvious?

JanJ
 
Some dark barring on the secondaries, lots of white dots on the upperparts, very pale looking iris and the wings looks very short compared to the average Buteo.
Why do I gett Accipiter feel on this one - even if the malar streak and supersilium is quite obvious?

JanJ

Slightly lightweight looking legs for a buteo and possibly a light coloured iris?

Woody
 
The more I looked at it, the more I started thinking accipiter too because of the streaking on the chest. I didn't get a good look at the tail, unfortunately. I am attaching the only other photos I have that are worth posting - while the first one isn't focused on the birds, it shows the mystery hawk and the harrier together. The harrier definitely looks bulkier than our mystery hawk. The other photo isn't in focus either, but it shows something of the tail. Perhaps someone with an advanced photo editing program can enhance it to show more detail?

I will have to ask my birding buddy if her photos show the tail clearly - perhaps they will help.

Thanks for your thoughts so far.
 

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Is anyone else convinced? I'm afraid my friend doesn't have any photos to add to this discussion so this is all I have.
 
I really don't know much about American raptors, but I did just look at some random images found by Google, and the wing tips of a Broad-winged Hawk seem to reach quite close to the tip of the tail. If you look at Gillian's third picture you'll note that the wing tips don't reach at all that far.
 
The things that were bothering me before (long legs, short wings, widely banded tail) fit nicely for coopers. I guess the thing that was throwing me off before was the sparse chest streaking, but that last picture clears it up I think. Cooper's.

Scott
 
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