Another update on the nesting hawks

A diversion from the Road Trip Los Angeles posts...Mary tells me that the young hawks are still hanging around, flying from tree to tree. After reading additional background on Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, I decided to send a message to the Feeder Watch group at Cornell University.

Below I am excerpting two messages from Anne Marie of that group. Plenty of helpful information here, detailing the difficulty of identifying the two species. I’m left wondering which kind we had, most behaviors match “sharpies” but the call sounds like Cooper’s…you can follow the link in here post below and hear samples of their calls.

“Both species prefer to nest in conifers, but I believe that Cooper's Hawks tend to favor Red Pines at least in our area. I am not aware of significant differences between the two species in the location of nests within a tree. To my knowledge the breeding cycle is pretty similar for the two species as well, although Cooper's Hawks may start a bit earlier. There are definitely differences in their flight pattern and shape, but I have found the differences difficult to see except during migration when long flights can be observed. I am glad you had a chance to listen to the calls. Those can be very helpful.

These species are very difficult to tell apart. I have seen ornithologists look at the same photo and disagree about identification. (note the post with photos is http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2008/07/nesting-hawks-encore-with-photos.html)

So if you never figure it out, don't feel bad. It is very likely that the hawks will return to the same area to nest again next year, and in the case of Cooper's Hawks, they may even use the same nest. So if you will have another chance to identify your hawks next spring.”

…and…

“…I can't tell from the photos which hawk you have. You can find tips for telling the two species apart here:http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm

From the pages linked at the bottom of that page, you can find recordings to listen to, which might help. With the juvenile birds, the best field mark is the thickness of the vertical streaking on the breast. With the adults, the best field mark is whether or not the feathers on the back of the neck are light or dark. The two species overlap in size, and given how difficult it is to judge size, it is not usually a reliable field mark.”