For the Birds and Bird Lovers 2018 CAUTION: LARGE IMAGES

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Yesterday was a serious blizzard, and this morning the snow was about 12 to 14 inches deep. Lots of small birds at the feeders, and a Sharp-shinned hawk.

I wasn't sure whether it was a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned hawk, and was leaning towards Cooper's. I asked some heavy-duty birders, and the verdicts was Sharp-shinned.

The bird stuck around most of the day; it will be interesting to see if it's back tomorrow.

There are more pictures here, and a short video.

coopers_hawk_cropped_01.jpg
 
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mrsmig

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I'm going to disagree with your friends and say that's an immature Cooper's Hawk - based on the band of white at the end of the tail, the rectangular shape of the head (with the slightly crested look to the back of the head) and the overall bulkiness compared to the slimmer Sharp-Shinned.

Would you say the hawk you saw was more jay-sized, or more crow sized? Generally the Cooper is larger, but the problem is that the females of both species are larger than the male, and it's easy to mistake a male Cooper for a female Shinny, especially in an immature bird. I could very well be wrong.

Whatever species it is, that's a beautiful shot of a gorgeous bird.

P.S. I checked the link for the additional pics and video, but it's a link to a site called The Goulet Pen.
 
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MaeZe

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mrsmig

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Helix, that's an amazing photo. And the "wuff wuff" call made me laugh out loud.

I've only ever seen one species of owl in the wild. One of my life goals is to meet a Saw-Whet Owl in the flesh. They are SO cute.
 

MaryMumsy

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We occasionally have a great horned owl in our yard. Haven't seen it or heard it lately, but I'm sure it/they are still around. We also have hawks. Both red-tailed and Cooper's. They are majestic to see floating over the yard, or up in the trees. But they eat our wild rabbits, dammit.

MM
 

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I wanted to share this close-up photo of a juvenile Cooper's Hawk that's been hanging around my feeders lately (right after I took this, s/he nabbed a House Sparrow from the gang of them that like to hang out in the sawgrass below the feeder).

juvenilecoopers.jpg
 

ElaineA

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I wanted to share this close-up photo of a juvenile Cooper's Hawk that's been hanging around my feeders lately (right after I took this, s/he nabbed a House Sparrow from the gang of them that like to hang out in the sawgrass below the feeder).

Awesome photo! How is it getting along with the foxes?
 

mrsmig

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Awesome photo! How is it getting along with the foxes?

Interestingly, a week or so ago the hawk was on the ground between the sawgrass and my neighbor's chain link fence (where i couldn't see it clearly), having just made a rush at the birds in the sawgrass. I don't know if it had made a kill or not. One of the foxes was at the rear of the yard and suddenly ran toward the hawk. The hawk bounced up onto the fence railing and sat there, looking down at the fox, which had stopped a few feet away. My husband and I were running from one window to another, trying to see what was happening. The fox stood very still, watching the hawk, which opened its wings just a bit and lifted them, maybe in warning or as a prelude to flight. Then the hawk flew off. We weren't able to see if it had a kill in its claw; its beak was empty.

We are still wondering whether the fox was trying to steal the hawk's kill (if it had one), or thought the hawk was some sort of prey animal when it landed in the yard.
 

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Nice shots!

We have cooper's, or maybe they are immature red tails, visit our yard sometimes to nab one of the doves that feed on the ground under our feeders. I never have a camera handy at the time, though.
 
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Lady MacBeth

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Great photos! Glad I discovered this thread. :)
 

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All the trees and shrubs are coated with ice; it melts for a few hours, then when the temperature drops, it re-freezes.

I took this picture through the window.

cardinal.jpg
 

mrsmig

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Beautiful photo, Lisa!
 

MaeZe

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I was out raking the driveway (because you have to rake the tree branches and pine needles before tackling the rest with the blower), sun was out and there was a huge murder of crows gathering for one of their reunions. It can truly be like The Birds around here sometimes.

Then the call of an eagle sounded a couple of times and the whole flock of crows took to the air. I couldn't spot the eagle. A few minutes later the crows came back, circling right overhead where their calls change in pitch. They reassorted themselves high in the trees.

And to top off the experience, while raking I came up with a solution to a problem in my plot, a good one. :D
 
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Twick

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Just to be That Person - are you sure it was the call of an eagle, or a Red-Tailed Hawk?

Eagles actually have rather high-pitched, somewhat embarrassingly unmacho, calls, compared to the harsh scream of the Red-Tail. Therefore most often when you "hear" an eagle "scream" in movies or tv, they're actually using the Red-Tail's call as a substitute. So what most people (and this may, of course, not include you) think of as an eagle's scream is actually a hawk's scream.

Blue Jays are known to mimic Red-Tails for nefarious purposes like scaring away other birds from food. Perhaps one of the crows wanted a better position and used it to get the others up and moving?

(Totally off-topic, I was once on a city nature trail, and came across a juvenile RTH on a lamp standard. A crowd started to gather, cooing "Oooooh! An EAGLE! Wow!"

I started to explain it wasn't, and then thought better of it. If they want to go home and tell everyone how they saw an eagle up close and personal, I shouldn't spoil it for them.)
 

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Eagles are pretty common in the Puget sound area, both Bald and Golden Eagles. And crows routinely mob them.
 

MaeZe

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Definitely eagle. They make this high pitch musical call when they are flying. You can hear it at the beginning of this YouTube video.

The hawks make a more piercing single call, closer to a seagull.
 

ElaineA

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I live on a golf course backed up by a steep, hillside of trees in the Seattle burbs. I always know when a bird of prey has wandered onto the course by the crows going bananas. We have hawks, bald eagles, ospreys, and falcons in the immediate area, and the crows won't tolerate any of them. The funny thing is, with certain weather conditions, we get seagulls, too. The crows don't mind them in the least. You'd think they'd be annoyed to have challengers for the garbage cans. :)
 

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Heh. I was just coming by to note that we've got a snowstorm incoming, (and so I'll be filling the feeders, etc.) and I've been seeing crows gathering all morning.

Just went to the top of the building to look, and yep, there's an owl; the crows are mobbing it. Can't be sure what kind of owl, but I'm leaning towards a Barred owl; they're here all year, and I've seen them before.
 

Helix

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*waves*

Just got back from birding in the Falkland Islands. Saw 50 native species. Only dipped on the barn owl (which I've seen elsewhere) and some of the ocean-going seabirds. I will be processing the pics over the next fortnight. Stand by for some splendid waterfowl.

ETA: And penguins. Somehow, I managed to forget the penguins.
 

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*waves*

Just got back from birding in the Falkland Islands. Saw 50 native species. Only dipped on the barn owl (which I've seen elsewhere) and some of the ocean-going seabirds. I will be processing the pics over the next fortnight. Stand by for some splendid waterfowl.

ETA: And penguins. Somehow, I managed to forget the penguins.

That sounds amazing! #Jealous.



I was sitting at home the other day, minding my own business, when I heard a thud from outside.

I went to investigate and right outside my bedroom window, not three feet from where I was standing, was a sparrow-hawk that has brought down a pigeon and was just tucking in its bib.

The sparrow-hawk saw me and flew off. The pigeon looked around as if it could hardly believe its luck and then also flew off.

I felt a bit sorry that the sparrow-hawk didn't get its breakfast, but was happy for the pigeon. Wish I'd had a camera to hand... sorry bird lovers!
 
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Helix

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Am going through the Falklands photos very slowly. Here's a striated caracara, a raptor found in the Falklands and Tierra del Fuego. They're inquisitive, investigating -- and making off with -- anything left unattended. They prey on other birds and undertake co-ordinated attacks on penguins. These attacks are not pretty.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DXVI_nAUQAA-GAx.jpg (50KB)