Help with raptor ID.

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Immature Northern goshawk. The larger cousin to our other Accipiters, the Cooper's and Sharp-shinned hawks. From that last pic it looks like it just got done eating.

Thanks for the info!

You're welcome! If you look at the tail you can see the dark bands have a very narrow light band before the wider lighter band starts. I hope that makes sense. Goshawks also usually have a white 'brow line' above the eye, but I've also seen Cooper's hawks with this trait too so you can't go by that alone. I try to look for 2 or more traits before making an ID on a bird that can be confused with others.

Beekeeper wrote in post #17410471
You're welcome! If you look at the tail you can see the dark bands have a very narrow light band before the wider lighter band starts. I hope that makes sense. Goshawks also usually have a white 'brow line' above the eye, but I've also seen Cooper's hawks with this trait too so you can't go by that alone. I try to look for 2 or more traits before making an ID on a bird that can be confused with others.

They definitely seem like amazing creatures. I just finished reading a couple of articles on them. You will likely find this a discouraging statement but I have access to some very large parks and wild areas locally where I take walks almost daily. I see an amazing array of birds and I don't really have much of a clue about them. I really have to educate myself. Thanks again.

Not discouraging at all! That's awesome! I'd recommend getting a couple of field guides. Ken Kauffman's is good and Brian K Wheeler wrote a few books focusing on diurnal birds of prey. Also Jerry Liguori has a very informative blog on raptors I'd recommend checking out. That guy has an immense wealth of knowledge when it comes to hawks, falcons, and eagles. Here's a link to Jerry's blog on Hawk Watch International.

http://hawkwatch.org/b​log

Uh oh. I think I'm in trouble now!

Great captures and congrats.