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That looks strikingly like an adult Broad-winged Hawk, with the dark breast and light belly, mostly unmarked wings with a heavy dark edge, and the mostly black tail with a bold white band.  I think a Gray Hawk would look lighter underneath and especially on the edges of the wings.

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1 hour ago, Charlie Spencer said:

It appears to be almost the size of the Broad-winged.  Would a Sharpie be that large, or are Broads smaller than I thought?

I was thinking Cooper's for the accipiter. Wing spans for Broad-winged, Coop and Sharpie are 34in, 31in, and 23in. As you say these two birds have similar wing spans.

I don't think this a Gray Hawk (not enough black on the wing tips and edges, tail too short) which has an identical wing span to Broad-winged.

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I don't think size can't be judged in these photos because of the unknown distance. Ever notice how fishermen make their catch of the day look bigger in photos by holding it out in front of them a bit? If holding a fish out at arms length can make a small fish look bigger, the same can happen when a small hawk is an arms length closer to the camera too. Maybe not a great comparison, but I can't think of a better one. Size is hard to judge, and even harder if the two birds are at two different focal distances. 

Two cents worth.... maybe?

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4 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

It appears to be almost the size of the Broad-winged.  Would a Sharpie be that large, or are Broads smaller than I thought?

I don't know about you, but Broad-wings are smaller than I thought.  According to allaboutbirds, the length of the Broad-winged Hawk is 13.4 to 17.3 inches, and the length of the Sharp-shinned Hawk is 9.4 to 13.4 inches.  (That 9.4 inches is 34 cm, which is why it shows up in both.)  So a big female Sharpie could be just slightly smaller than a small male Broad-wing.

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6 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

It appears to be almost the size of the Broad-winged.  Would a Sharpie be that large, or are Broads smaller than I thought?

A bit of both I think. BWHA seem RSHA sized or smaller to me, off the top of my head. Sharpies can be deceiving big, with females being about the same size as a male Coop. 

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4 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Regardless of the accipiter, I'd like to thank everyone for the Broad-winged Hawk comments.  @jaws13's photos and the discussions here helped me nail my lifer Broad-winged this morning!

Congratulations!! This is an excellent example of why everyone should try to include explanations, especially for trickier IDs like buteos.!

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15 hours ago, Snake Fingers said:

Congratulations!! This is an excellent example of why everyone should try to include explanations, especially for trickier IDs like buteos.!

this! and congrats to you Charlie!

 

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