So this guy has been following me around hoping I root out some food as I do yard work. He flies and perches wherever I'm working and scans the ground for mice, voles, whatever. This morning he got as close as ever, hanging out in a branch right above my head. Pictures kind of suck because I only have a phone and the lighting outside is wierd.

Anyhow I'm used to seeing red tail hawks but he seems either juvenile or just smaller. What do the bird folks think...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: frayedends,

Coopers hawk.

Jim

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...ies-compare/70780511

Check these photos

I'm going to have to get a better look at him. He looks very much like a Copper's. But his tail feathers don't look as long and his breast markings aren't a neat and full. The juvenile Sharp-shinned hawk looks very close but the legs are skinnier on the Sharp-shinned. In any case he's a hawk and he likes our yard so I'm good with that.

Oh I read that Cooper's like to eat songbirds and will chase them in the air. But this guy definitely doesn't do that. We have plenty of songbirds flying around all the time and he pays them no attention. He basically scans the ground for small animals.

Maybe a juvenile red tail?

This Cooper's hawk comes around looking for squirrels. I think he is eating a mouse in this video.

For myself, it’s difficult to positively identify any juvenile hawk. It’s especially difficult when the wing tips (which seem to be pointed) are not clearly visible, nor is the relative length of tail to wingspan evident. That said, I’ll say with conviction, it’s a young hawk.

Be careful.. s/he may be sizing you up... <snicker>

Well she/he is back this morning. The hawk left for most of the summer and winter last year. Walked out of the shed and she startled me flying from the post right next to me. I didn't notice her until she flew. Landed on another post.

My pics suck, foggy morning, iPhone. But she was not afraid of me. I got within 4 feet or so of the post and she just stared at me. We decided to hunt together. I flushed out the weeds and overgrowth and she stared at the ground near me. We didn't get anything and she moved on. But so incredibly cool.

Got a decent video of her not giving a shit..






Amazing how far around they can turn their heads. I thought only owls did this.

That is so neat. Thank you.
One or two of the crows I feed are becoming pretty tolerant of my being close to them, and it’s a nice feeling to have the trust of wildlife.

Most birds’ eyes are fixed or have very limited movement, so their heads must be capable of moving to compensate.

Coopers Hawk. Looking at you pics of the hawk you have the woods at your house. Coopers Hawks get their prey mostly from flying through the woods rather than going up high and spotting prey.
When I kept ducks Cooper Hawks would sometime come from the woods across the street and sit on the fence and check out the ducks. They never went after the ducks but would go after food we put out for them.

A YouTube comment said this is a juvenile red tailed hawk. Not sure either way. She didn’t look small enough to be juvenile.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
A YouTube comment said this is a juvenile red tailed hawk. Not sure either way. She didn’t look small enough to be juvenile.

First-year redtailed hawk, probably a male.
Not a Cooper's hawk.