Cooper's or Sharp-shinned? (1 Viewer)

I'm pretty sure this is a Cooper's Hawk. The tail looks rounded to me. I'm not good at judging size if I don't have another bird to compare it too, but it looked pretty big. What do you think?

I'd say Cooper's, too, but not based on the tail's "roundness" but rather on the graduated length of the tail feathers (esp. in shots #1, 2 and 4) which is what gives the fanned tail the rounded look. I've seen folded tails on Cooper's that, depending on wear, can look somewhat square depending on the angle of the photo.

Thanks

In pic #5, even though it's blurry and a pine is in the shot, you can see the square shaped head, indicating Coops (as opposed to the round shaped head of a Sharpie). Also, 1-4 are really nice shots!

overworkedirish said:

In pic #5, even though it's blurry and a pine is in the shot, you can see the square shaped head, indicating Coops (as opposed to the round shaped head of a Sharpie). Also, 1-4 are really nice shots!

Click to expand...

I went to the park early last Sunday to take some duck pics. I was sitting on a bench at the edge of the water sipping my coffee and waiting for the shy Ruddy Ducks and Hooded Mergansers to get used to my presence and come close enough for a good pic. Two Blue Jays in bushes on either side of me were yelling back and forth. Then I heard this other screech that was not a jay. I looked up and saw this hawk up near the top of the tree I was next too. I walked a bit away from the bench so I could see it better and took the first two pics. Then I went back to the bench to get a couple shots of its tail. The last pic I was up on a hill a bit further away. The pine at the base of the hill kept getting in the way of my pics.