Pictures Balcony Visitor

[Heather F]

This beauty was not at all bothered by our looking at him (her?) through the window, and even stayed long enough for me to grab the good camera and take a couple of pictures instead of just a phone camera shot. I know we have a few hawks nesting in the area but haven't seen one actually perched on our rail before. What a magnificent bird!

@melissasparrots or anyone else can you tell me what species this is?

(No conures were scared in the taking of these pictures - the hawk was far enough along the balcony that the wall and curtain were blocking the view.)

 

[SandraK]

Immature Cooper's hawk? Cooper's Hawk, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

 

[~Drini~]

Wow! What a sight

 

[melissasparrots]

Looks like an immature red tail to me. Definitely not a Cooper's hawk.

 

[Heather F]

Red tail would make sense... there are lots of those around Toronto. I was just so impressed by how big this guy was close up... usually they are in the air or perched on top of a building as a tiny silhouette!

 

[SandraK]

Looks like an immature red tail to me. Definitely not a Cooper's hawk.

I'm asking why not and I don't mean it to be a challenge. I have both Cooper's and red tails in my back yard and I want to be able to spot the difference.

 

[SandraK]

This guy was on our deck railing -

 

[SandraK]

But I'm fairly sure that this was a red tail or not?

 

[Greycloud]

Sandra, the one on your railing is a Coopers. The one in the tree is a Red tail. I believe the one in the OP is a juvenile red tail.

 

[SandraK]

I guess what I'm asking is how can you tell? Is it a difference in the tail bars? Without seeing the breast feathers I find myself at loss to figure out who is what.

 

[SandraK]

So would this guy also be a Cooper's or is he a red tail? He "dines" at our feeders fairly frequently.

 

[Greycloud]

That looks like a Coopers' . Coopers have a longer tail and a more aubutn head color. They have a smaller beak. Barring of the tail is larger.

 

[MyAussieFriends]

Jealous!

 

[melissasparrots]

I'm asking why not and I don't mean it to be a challenge. I have both Cooper's and red tails in my back yard and I want to be able to spot the difference.

To be honest, I can tell for sure he's not an accipiter. I'd be 100% that he's a red tail if I saw a pic of him turned around and I could see the breast. The original bird pictured at the top of the thread is a buteo, almost certainly a red tail. Coopers, when in doubt have long tails, more slender build and just a different face. Telling the difference between raptors by picture can be debatable by people that have hands on experience with the species. It seems like the distinction between sharpy vs. coopers is often hard to tell from most backyard pics.

 

[Greycloud]

I agree Melissa. I have handled all of the above when I worked at the zoo. One difference of the Sharp Shin is the yellow legs and feet are smaller, finer. Also the feathers go further down the leg on the Coopers.

 

[melissasparrots]

This guy was on our deck railing -

That one looks like a coopers hawk to me. I might have questioned it since I'm not that experienced with juvenile red shouldered hawks. However, then you showed a picture of the tail and its definitely got an accipter tail. Actually it looks like a female by the thickness of the tarsi.

 

[melissasparrots]

But I'm fairly sure that this was a red tail or not?

Yes, those are all red tails. To me, red shoulders (which I don't have experience with as we rarely see them) and red tails look similar from behind. There should be a size difference though when seen in person. From the front, that belly band-the spotted band of brown separating the upper breast and belly is diagnostic of a red tail. A few, such as my current male have a very light belly band and even more rarely a red tail will not have one, but usually if you see the belly band on a bird that looks like a red tail, then its a red tail. Red shouldered hawks have more of a streaky breast that to me could make them easily mistaken for a coopers except that a coops will have the classic accipter tail. There are a few dark morph red tails and harlan's hawks around my area that can trick people until you get used to seeing them.

 

[melissasparrots]

So would this guy also be a Cooper's or is he a red tail? He "dines" at our feeders fairly frequently.

Coopers. Dining at your feeders is another hint. Coopers and sharpies are small bird specialists and notorious for grabbing a fast sparrow at a feeder. Red tails can try for small birds and sometimes be successful. But they usually target furry critters. Also, the bird in the picture has the classic streamlined shape and accipter tail. A little rounded at the bottom which indicates coops vs. sharpy.

 

[alcmene]

This thread is super educational and has great pics! A++ guys!

 

[SandraK]

Thank you for your input, I really do appreciate it. I'll apologize because I don't know what you mean by accipter - my wild bird bible is Sibleys and while it is very informative it doesn't help distinguish between the different hawks. Two doors down from my house there is a red tail nest and (for the 5 years we've been here) the adults return every year and raise a clutch. I've already seen the adults this past week and I'll try to post photos in another thread. Apart from the Cooper's and the red tails, we do have some smaller birds of prey (falcons?) that I've spotted at dusk and sunrise. One almost hit me coming around the side of the garage around sunrise one morning. Flying at about 5' high much smaller than a Cooper's or a red tail and very fast. Falcon came to mind.

While the area I live in is developed I am a block away from a whole section of land that is open due to the high tension power lines that run through it. I know the red tails will hang out on the towers because they quite literally get a "bird's eye" view of anything and everything that is moving in the area. I'll try to find some more photos for you. I have several from the very hot summer 2-3 years ago when I'd actually put water out for the wild life and I think I have a photo of a red tail in one of the water containers. My husband firmly believes that I am a little past loony but then what does he know?

I have also watched hawks in the area around the strip malls near me check out the area for potential dinner fare. It always surprises me that no one else notices them.