Pictures of two different accipiters, without comment as to possible identification. One was found perched and digiscoped in Kissena Park this past Monday, the other flew directly overhead and was photographed with my 100mm macro lens in the Rockaways on Sunday. Sharpies or Coops? That is, Sharp-shinned Hawks or Cooper’s Hawks? Or one of each?
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
OK, I’ll take the plunge, even if I don’t know how to swim. I believe the flier is a sharpie and the sitter is a Coop. The sharpie shows the notch in the tail, a smaller head, a slimmer body, and less head projection beyond the wrists. The Coop has a large head, bulky appearance and a rounded, un-notched if somewhat frayed tail with what used to be a broad white tip.
The flying bird looks like an unequivocal sharpshin to me. The perched bird has a pretty delicate bill for a Cooper’s, but the cleanly-defined, teardrop streaking, the squarish head and the roundish tailtip with shorter outer rectrices all look pretty good for Cooper’s, probably a smallish male. I’d love to see his shins!
these pictures are amazing i love the last one they are the greatest
@Jack and Julie: I agree with what you two came up with…
@Raven: Thanks!