Mark Cassino wrote: > > Nice shot - but a bit hard to ID - how big was it? > > Based on the shape of the tail, the markings on the beak, and the pattern > of the breast feathers my first guess would be a female sharp shinned hawk. > Should of been just under a foot long if that is the case. > > Second guess would be a female Cooper's hawk - though the tail should be > more fanned (but it might just be wet). A Cooper's would be more like just > over a foot long. > > The immature birds of both species look a lot like the females, but usually > have longer wing and tail feathers that make them look deceptively large. > But this one seems to have a relatively short tail - hard to tell with the > fence there. > > two long shots - possibly a female Northern Harrier or Northern > Goshawks. Like I said - long shots. > > A red tail would not have the bands inside the tail feathers. The length > of the tail in proportion to the body, and the length of the outmost dark > band at the end of the tail in proportion to the tail length really suggest > a Sharp Shinned Hawk. >
Then there is perception of size to muck it up - THe NGS mentions maps goshhawks in winter in Tom's area... Coopers not until Spring (not that the birds read the maps) - though that was my first guess. How MUCH bigger than a crow? as you said, Mark, a bit difficult - besides, we all want it to be something a tad more interesting than a plain old red tail :) Maybe Tom could invite him/her back ann
