Cooper's Hawk

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Beautiful captures! #2 is my favorite; don't think I've seen many shots that show off the underside of a Cooper's so well.

You've got a Red-shouldered Hawk here. Nice series.

Nighthound wrote in post #17510932
You've got a Red-shouldered Hawk here. Nice series.

Thanks for that Steve. I know zero about birds. That being said I claimed it to be a Cooper's because it was identified a such by someone from a local raptor conservation agency but the ID was made from the LCD of my camera and admittedly very tough to see at the time. Would you be kind enough to explain the difference between the two? I've given them both a Google search but I'm having a tough time seeing the difference. I'm thinking the red shoulders might be a indicator?? LOL.

neophyte52 wrote in post #17510911
Beautiful captures! #2 is my favorite; don't think I've seen many shots that show off the underside of a Cooper's so well.

Thank you.

nqjudo wrote in post #17510950
Thanks for that Steve. I know zero about birds. That being said I claimed it to be a Cooper's because it was identified a such by someone from a local raptor conservation agency but the ID was made from the LCD of my camera and admittedly very tough to see at the time. Would you be kind enough to explain the difference between the two? I've given them both a Google search but I'm having a tough time seeing the difference. I'm thinking the red shoulders might be a indicator?? LOL.

The tail is proportionately shorter on a Red-Shouldered and the white bands on the tail are narrower than the black bands on a RS. Also the dark area on the upper neck/throat is a good indicator, a Coopers has a more pale/buff color there.

nqjudo wrote in post #17510950

Nighthound wrote in post #17510932
You've got a Red-shouldered Hawk here. Nice series.

Thanks for that Steve. I know zero about birds. That being said I claimed it to be a Cooper's because it was identified a such by someone from a local raptor conservation agency but the ID was made from the LCD of my camera and admittedly very tough to see at the time. Would you be kind enough to explain the difference between the two? I've given them both a Google search but I'm having a tough time seeing the difference. I'm thinking the red shoulders might be a indicator?? LOL.

The red shoulders are a definite giveaway. But I see you're in Canada.....quite a large place, you must admit. What's the chances we could get you to edit your location just a bit so we have a better idea where you're taking your shots? It helps with ID'ing species you're taking and makes it helpful to know what is showing up where. Red Shouldered Hawks are not frequently seen up here, but there is the odd one. I'm in Nova Scotia (as you can see) and there has been one hanging out in SWNS over the past couple of weeks.

Nighthound wrote in post #17511038
The tail is proportionately shorter on a Red-Shouldered and the white bands on the tail are narrower than the black bands on a RS. Also the dark area on the upper neck/throat is a good indicator, a Coopers has a more pale/buff color there.

Thanks!!

Wallace River wrote in post #17511047
The red shoulders are a definite giveaway. But I see you're in Canada.....quite a large place, you must admit. What's the chances we could get you to edit your location just a bit so we have a better idea where you're taking your shots? It helps with ID'ing species you're taking and makes it helpful to know what is showing up where. Red Shouldered Hawks are not frequently seen up here, but there is the odd one. I'm in Nova Scotia (as you can see) and there has been one hanging out in SWNS over the past couple of weeks.

These were taken just west of Montreal. No shortage of them either. I saw 3 pairs in a fairly small area.

Both species can often be found in the same habitat (wooded areas), and the flying style of Red-shoulders often is Accipiter-like (Cooper's are in the Accipiter family, and Red-shoulders are Buteos). Adult Cooper's hawks are gray on top, and look similar to Red-shoulders underneath, but the tail on Cooper's is longer. It isn't black and white like Red-shoulders, but instead gray with much darker (nearly black) bands of about equal width.

Thanks!