Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Hawk - Sharp-shinned or Cooper's?

This hawk has been hunting in our patio for the past couple of weeks. I thought it was a Cooper's Hawk, but a friend thinks it might be a Sharp-shinned Hawk. The Project Feederwatch web site shows the differences, but I'm still not sure. Could someone please identify it for me? I can see it's a juvenile, because it has red eyes. Adults have red or orange eyes.



2 comments:

robin andrea said...

Sorry, I can't help. The differences between Sharp-shinned and Cooper's are really subtle. A beautiful bird.

Pam in Tucson said...

Hi, r.a. - Thanks for visiting. I'm going to try to get clearer photos of this guy, if he comes back. Maybe I can spot the distinguishing characteristics.