Immature Cooper's Hawk

What do you think?

It's a great picture, but I think it is an immature Sharp-shinned hawk. : )

See the slight differances?

IMAGE LINK: http://peregrineflier.​smugmug.com …cqvb#958042517_​fy9VU-A-LB

you can always always tell a hawk or an eagle with the feet i.e talon's they are quite a strong bird they have been known to pick up baby sheep and fly away true fact they have done it my father witnessed it

so there you go a bit of usefull info

Thanks. Those were my final two choices.

I posted it on a different bird forum, and had a couple people agree with me that it was a Cooper's so that's what I went with.

I sent the picture into the state, and got the following back.

I agree with you identification, it looks like a young Cooper’s Hawk. A juvenile, in fact, meaning that it was hatched this year. The feathers on the mantle and wing coverts are fresh (new) and this can be gleaned by looking at the pale edging to those feathers. Sharp-shinned would be much (much!) less likely than a Cooper’s in summer. Cooper’s Hawks have been increasing in recent decades, especially in suburban settings. Suburban settings usually includes bird feeders which do a nice job of concentrating main prey items (small birds). I usually get several calls a year about young Cooper’s Hawks in people’s backyards or neighborhoods.

What about the eye color? I thought this bird in my front yard was a Coopers.

Possibly the eye color changes when the plumage changes? Mine is an immature.

KipS wrote in post #10666719
Possibly the eye color changes when the plumage changes? Mine is an immature.

Red eye color indicates that it's a mature adult.

KipS wrote in post #10666510
I sent the picture into the state, and got the following back.

I agree with you identification, it looks like a young Cooper’s Hawk. A juvenile, in fact, meaning that it was hatched this year. The feathers on the mantle and wing coverts are fresh (new) and this can be gleaned by looking at the pale edging to those feathers. Sharp-shinned would be much (much!) less likely than a Cooper’s in summer. Cooper’s Hawks have been increasing in recent decades, especially in suburban settings. Suburban settings usually includes bird feeders which do a nice job of concentrating main prey items (small birds). I usually get several calls a year about young Cooper’s Hawks in people’s backyards or neighborhoods.

LOL, It is a Sharp shinned hawk, no question about it. I will put my 30+ years of hands on experience with these two hawks up against any State official.

txcanon wrote in post #10668139
Red eye color indicates that it's a mature adult.

Yes, a mature Accipiter has red eyes. : )