Kestrel hanging with Crows?

[KJS-LES 6]

Has anyone seen this?  (I'm in NYC; photos from Nov 29, 2020)

Kami

 

 

 

[Aidan B 1,491]

I've never seen anything like that before, it's usually the crows chasing the Raptors around.

By the way, the kestrel is actually a Cooper's/Sharp-shinned Hawk.

[KJS-LES 6]

2 hours ago, Aidan B said:

I've never seen anything like that before, it's usually the crows chasing the Raptors around.

By the way, the kestrel is actually a Cooper's/Sharp-shinned Hawk.

I've seen Crows dive bombing Red-Tails.  This get-together still amazes me.

I thought a Cooper's is larger than a Crow (and a Kestrel) and smaller than a Red-Tail, and darker.  I have no idea what a Sharp-shinned looks like. 🙂

[Aaron 834]

Cooper’s hawks can have variable sizes, with males being much smaller than females. Females are more similar in size to crows. 
Sharp-shinned hawks look virtually the same as Cooper’s (they often get confused and one of the most asked questions on here), but in general are smaller. Yet, large Sharp-shinneds can be the same size as small Coopers and size isn’t always easy to evaluate. 
Theres a few things to look for when separating the two, but, at least for me, can’t see any of those with these photos to be 100% sure. Probably would lean Cooper’s though 

[Avery 1,954]

6 hours ago, Aaron said:

Cooper’s hawks can have variable sizes, with males being much smaller than females. Females are more similar in size to crows. 
Sharp-shinned hawks look virtually the same as Cooper’s (they often get confused and one of the most asked questions on here), but in general are smaller. Yet, large Sharp-shinneds can be the same size as small Coopers and size isn’t always easy to evaluate. 
Theres a few things to look for when separating the two, but, at least for me, can’t see any of those with these photos to be 100% sure. Probably would lean Cooper’s though 

Just to add on about the size thing. 
Male sharpies are the smallest, being about the size of a blue Jay. Female sharpies and male Coopers are roughly the same size, and female Coopers are big, almost like a red-tail

[IKLland 1,289]

10 hours ago, Aaron said:

Cooper’s hawks can have variable sizes, with males being much smaller than females. Females are more similar in size to crows. 
Sharp-shinned hawks look virtually the same as Cooper’s (they often get confused and one of the most asked questions on here), but in general are smaller. Yet, large Sharp-shinneds can be the same size as small Coopers and size isn’t always easy to evaluate. 
Theres a few things to look for when separating the two, but, at least for me, can’t see any of those with these photos to be 100% sure. Probably would lean Cooper’s though 

Like @Averysaid also, there confusion of size with the two is when a female sharpie can be the same size as a male coop

[KJS-LES 6]

Thanks all for the interesting information.

There are Cooper's Hawks in this area, so I'd go with that too.  (Red-tails are the most common here (lower Manhattan); occasionally, one will fly right by my 19th floor window.

So where do Kestrels fit in on the size "scale"?

[Aidan B 1,491]

3 minutes ago, KJS-LES said:

So where do Kestrels fit in on the size "scale"?

I've always thought that kestrels are about the size of a Mourning Dove, if not smaller

[chipperatl 682]

Were they mobbing it?  I've seen crows mob a COHA, and the COHA would chase after them.  

[KJS-LES 6]

1 hour ago, Aidan B said:

I've always thought that kestrels are about the size of a Mourning Dove, if not smaller

They look larger to me, maybe because they're "posture" is so different, they're so colorful.  🙂