Great shot!

-fast trigger finger to capture this skillful hunter! These accipiters actually will smash right into a cedar to scare birds from cover and than snatch them in the air!

Thanks kittyhawk and jim - I could have gotten more shots but he actually came too close to me for my lens to focus at times. And yes - exactly what he did - flew at that tree trying to get the sparrows to fly out! Unfortunately they stayed put.... he did the same thing to my virginia creeper vine - which is also always full of sparrows and is quite deep. Smashed right into it..... which is how I knew he was there in the first place - heard that from inside the house. The sparrows started making lots of noise but were smart enough to stay put inside the vine (right up against the window - the kids were thrilled because from inside the house, they said they saw the hawk trying to get at the sparrows - the vine covers a window). Joanne

Yes, that looks more like a Cooper's. Even though most experts will not agree on all the techniques for identifying Cooper's and Sharpies, I think that the tail is the most reliable. I've caught many a Cooper's and Sharp-shinned, and I've been able to distinguish the two by the tail. It's just one technique that really helps out there in the field :).

I was reading somewhere that coopers will have more of a white band at the bottom of the tail than a sharpie... and this was didn't...... but then I read somewhere else that the white tail band is less evident in the spring...... arg! (it's spring - well, by the calendar anyway.... still snow of course now - arg!) So...... I'll just say coopers and leave it at that - ha ha! Joanne

-"In fall, when they are in fresh plumage, Cooper's Hawk has a proportionately broader white band at the tip of the tail than the Sharp- shinned Hawk; wear on the plumage makes the mark less reliable by spring and by early summer, shortly before the molt begins, either species may be left with virtually no white tip on the tail."-Advanced Birding", Peterson Field Guides, Kaufman 1990,NY.

Well tha'ts certainly annoying of them isn't it? ;-) Joanne