Type of hawk? San Diego eastern suburbs (1 Viewer)

Type of hawk? San Diego eastern suburbs (Southern California)

Hi,

New to this forum and excited to have found it. There has been one of these hanging out in our neighborhood for a few weeks now. Now there are two. They make a high-pitched screech which has our indoor cats fascinated. I'm assuming they are maybe Cooper's Hawks? But the pics I see on the internet look darker, and I'm a total n00b at this anyway. They are about the size of a crow or raven.

Thanks!

Look good for young Cooper’s to me, probably broodmates since they’re keeping company. . ..

Agree with young Cooper's

Great! Thanks for the quick replies!

Regarding OPs description of the Hawk's "high-pitched screech."

There is a distinct difference between the calls of the Sharp-shinned Hawk and the Cooper's Hawk.

According to Wheeler the Sharp-shinned Hawk "When very agitated has a very high pitched, rapid kee-kee-kee or soft, high-pitched kyew, kyew, kyew usually a 3 note call ..... ." See page 167 in the Chapter on VOICE in his "HAWKS of Western North America." "Nestlings and fledglings emit an equally high pitched kree:.


In Wheeler's discussion about the call of the Cooper's Hawk he notes that it is a "very nasal kek-kek-kek' when alarmed or agitated."............... "The nasal quality of all vocalizations is readily separable from the calls of Sharp-shinned Hawk and Northern Goshawk." See page 183. Op Cit.

Bob

The latest reliable date for Sharpie in San Diego County is 28 April and they return in mid-September.

Peter

Young Cooper's Hawks definitely give a repetitive high pitched begging squeal / screech. I just spent 6 weeks in east county San Diego visiting family and woke up to begging Cooper's fledglings most mornings.

pbjosh said:

Young Cooper's Hawks definitely give a repetitive high pitched begging squeal / screech. I just spent 6 weeks in east county San Diego visiting family and woke up to begging Cooper's fledglings most mornings.

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Hi PB,

Regarding your comments above on the "begging calls of Cooper's Hawk fledglings, I thought it would help somewhat if I recopied the differences in the voices of the Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks from Wheeler's "Raptor's of Western North America.

Here is the chapter on the VOICE of the Cooper's Hawk in full :

"Very nasal kek-kek-kek-kek when alarmed or agitated. A single nasal kek by males delivering food to females or when approaching the nest. When curious or mildly agitated, a soft, single, nasal kyew. The nasal quality of all vocalizations is readily separable from the calls of sharp-shinned Hawk and Northern Goshawk."

There is a long chapter on the nesting duties of the male and female Cooper's Hawk but no mention of any particular begging calls from nestlings or nestlings that may have left the nest early. Whether or not these could be the "high pitched begging squeal / screech" you heard I have no way of telling.

Here is more on the Sharp-shinned Hawk below:

The VOICE of the Sharp-shinned Hawk is discussed at page 167. (I have copied it in full.) "Generally silent except during courtship, when agitated in nesting territory. and when harassing other predators. Emits a very soft, single-note, songbird like chirp when mildly agitated or curious. When very agitated a high-pitched, rapid kee-kee-kee or soft, high pitched kyew-kyew-kyew; usually a three-note call, but can be four or more notes in a series. Nestlings and fledglings emit a high-pitched kree, single notes or series of notes. During food transfers, females utter a single, clear kek. Voice is easily separable from nasal call notes of Cooper's Hawks."

Bob

Nothing to do with leaving prematurely - they keep begging for weeks, because it works.

ceasar said:

Nestlings would have high pitched begging calls. If they left the nest prematurely they would still have them.

Bob

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These were fully fledged, strong flying birds with full tails, etc. Though it was the first time I've personally observed it, I don't find it odd that hawks should keep begging after leaving the nest, just as in most other altricial species.

pbjosh said:

These were fully fledged, strong flying birds with full tails, etc. Though it was the first time I've personally observed it, I don't find it odd that hawks should keep begging after leaving the nest, just as in most other altricial species.

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No, it isn't surprising. It happens all the time.

The problem that has come up with these two accipiters is the sound of their begging call. There is a sharp distinction otherwise between the voice of a Cooper's Hawk and that of a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

The question now is, do Cooper's and Sharp-shins both have similar begging cries when they become "fully fledged, strong flying birds with full tails?"

There are more than enough problems telling them apart now!

Bob

Bob I am not sure what your point is. The difference in begging sound of juvenile accipiters is academically interesting but irrelevant to a discussion of San Diego where on location alone these are clearly Cooper's Hawks. Cooper's Hawks do give high pitched begging calls, including after leaving the nest. A wide variety of begging calls of various frequencies and variations can be found on the Xeno-Canto page for Cooper's Hawk:

https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Accipiter-cooperii

As to your question, do Cooper's and Sharp-shins both have similar begging cries when they become "fully fledged, strong flying birds with full tails?" I have no idea but Xeno-Canto and or Macauley Library might be useful. It just doesn't seem germain to the ID of these birds but again I fully admit I feel like I'm missing your point.

:t:

pbjosh said:

Bob I am not sure what your point is. The difference in begging sound of juvenile accipiters is academically interesting but irrelevant to a discussion of San Diego where on location alone these are clearly Cooper's Hawks. Cooper's Hawks do give high pitched begging calls, including after leaving the nest. A wide variety of begging calls of various frequencies and variations can be found on the Xeno-Canto page for Cooper's Hawk:

https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Accipiter-cooperii

As to your question, do Cooper's and Sharp-shins both have similar begging cries when they become "fully fledged, strong flying birds with full tails?" I have no idea but Xeno-Canto and or Macauley Library might be useful. It just doesn't seem germain to the ID of these birds but again I fully admit I feel like I'm missing your point.

Click to expand...

I have no problem with the fact that the OPs birds are Cooper's Hawks. I know their permanent range extends down to San Diego and the Sharp-shinned Hawk's range does not. Range maps in Wheeler's book confirm this

I was looking for an explanation for why the calls OP described did not match the distinctive nasal kek-kek-kek calls of Cooper's Hawks. I now see that begging calls are the obvious answer here.

For me this goes back to an earlier discussion in a similar thread of this nature here on Bird Forum that I remembered. It took place in Southern California too. I'm sorry I can't be more precise about it. It involved newly fledged Cooper's Hawks hanging around a nest in a suburban neighborhood. The OP was trying to identify them and it ultimately came down to identifying them by the nasal kek-kek-kek calls of their parents.

By the way, thanks for that xeno-canto website! :t: I wasn't aware of it.

Bob