Jump to content
Whatbird Community

west Houston Cooper??


Recommended Posts

All,

Looking for help with a small accipiter in west Houston TX.  I am assuming it is a rather small Cooper, juvenile? Maybe recently kicked out of the nest?  It is overall darkish, rounded basal tail feathers, but chest is not streaked as I would expect in a juvenile, nor is it rufous as I would expect in an adult.  And as I said before, it is a small bird so I am wondering if it is recently out of the nest, or some exotic that should not be here in west Houston.  Any insights will be most appreciated..

_ID-01.jpg
_ID-02.jpg
_ID-03.jpg
_ID-05.jpg

Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an adult Broad-winged Hawk.  The tail is much too short for any Accipiter.  A Red-shouldered would be less compact and would have a slightly longer tail with thinner bands, contrasting barring on the flight feathers, and a lighter, more orange/red color overall.

Edited by The Bird Nuts
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kerri, Nuts,

Thanks for the help, I was way off base!  Actually, there are a ton of Broad Wings in the area this morning so I really ought to have been on top of it.  As it wasn't soaring about, a Broad wing didn't occur to me.  In french its called a Petite buse..  "Petite" pretty much sums it up, small f'sure..

Thanks again!

K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice photos! I've noticed a high influx of raptor migration this week here in the Heart of Texas. Today I had half a dozen Broad-winged and almost as many Swainson's, plus a Red-shouldered, Cooper's, and two Red-tailed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Liam,

Thanks for the note and compliment, I was lucky to have my camera with me at the time.  I have posted the photos to eBird along with my other sightings for the day.  Definitely a lot of braodwings out now...  The one I saw in the tree was the first I have ever seen up close, that is why I was thrown off, was so unexpected.  

Kevin..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...