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I was driving through the Skagit Valley mid-day yesterday (11/9) & saw this hawk on a telephone wire. I could not see much of the breast or undersides or tail but I got a good look at the head. The area is flat farm fields. I knew it was not the very common red-tailed or an equally common bald eagle. I am guessing a sharp-shinned or rough-legged but I am terible with raptors.

Wilmington NC, January 7. Sharp-shinned or Coopers? Thanks, Lance

I was taking some nice pictures of songbirds when this beautiful creature scared them all away. I have been wondering if it is a sharp-shinned or a coopers? I took a measuring tape to the spot where he landed on the chain-link fence and I estimate he is around 13-15" from tip to tail. Even though there were birds everywhere he did not catch any. He came face to face with a squirrel and did not attempt to kill it even though the squirrel was frozen like a deer in the headlights, so I think that prey was too big for him. Time of day was 11:30 am in London, Ontario, Canada. Thanks in advance for your help with this ID.

Hi all! I am new to the website and to birding. I've got some field guides but sometimes that's not quite enough, so I am hoping someone's expertise can help me out here! The bird was seen along the Fox River in Waukesha, WI, at a very urban section of the river that is pretty much always populated with people. It's where the river junctions with North Barstow street in downtown Waukesha - in case you wanted to google maps it. It was flying in, chasing after smaller birds, and then it landed in this tree RIGHT ABOVE MY HEAD for just a minute or two and then it was gone! My guess is Cooper's or Sharp-shinned, seems difficult to tell the difference. Thanks in advance for any help! Ryan

Hi all, I'm excited to have found this forum. Yesterday (18 April), my wife spotted this bird perched on the support for our bird feeders. We've never seen anything like it. It sat there for a long time without moving much. I didn't get very good pictures because I was afraid I'd spook it. Consulting my National Geographic field guide book, I thought it most closely resembled the picture and description of the Northern Harrier. When I sent the photos to my birding friend, he said it was a Cooper's hawk. Doing more online looking, I'm more and more thinking that it was probably a sharp-shinned hawk. It was pretty small for a hawk, though it was sort of rounded out--I'm guessing it was puffed up. Anyway, the descriptions we read about the sharp-shinned hawk seem to match especially well: It likes to take birds at feeders and plucks prey before eating them. We've noticed this spring at least three different "kills" around the yard, but each time it's just the feathers--no flesh or bones other than the wings. We live in Sterling, Nebraska (southeast corner of the state), and we see lots of red-tailed hawks in the countryside around. This bird was quite a bit smaller than one of those--maybe about the size of a laying hen. Brett

September 2008, Lexington, central SC. The shot was taken in a panic through a damp window screen before the bird flew off. Indeed, he was there only long enough for me to notice him, grab the camera, and get one truly mediocre shot (at best). I'm pretty sure it's a young Accipiter. Is the apparent lack of low streaking and the width of the white tail band enough to call this a Cooper's, or is the photo unidentifiable? Thanks!