-if your specimen was Jay- sized, because of the rufous and white horizontal barring on the chest, it would appear to me to be a Sharp- shinned hawk. -if the specimen was Crow- sized, it would appear to be a Coopers hawk. -Merlins would be Jay- sized and both young/ adults are vertically boldly striped on the breast.

You are right Jim. It's a Cooper's Hawk. I have been chasing a Merlin for weeks and when I took this picture I didn't even look at it closely and assumed it was a Merlin. My mistake. I'll be more careful next time. Thanks Jim.

Stefanwolfe, you made that battle quick and painless! Sharpies and Cooper's are subjects than any birder could spend hours on. Jim is exactly right (what else is new?). Glad to have that bird IDed!

stefan and Tawny, -actually, I called a Great Blue Heron a juvenile Sandhill Crane and newbirder pointed out that the black crown made it a Great Blue! (see sighting on March 13, 2008); but as all of us know, part of our learning is by making mistakes! :)

Jim: it's an easy mistake. One of the things the field guides all point out, is that it is easy to misidentify the two. I remember when I was bird banding a few years ago, I was showing one of the new bird banders how to extract a bird when his feet are tangled. I wasn't paying any attention to what the bird was, and when I saw that it was a small bird with a black and white head, I called it a chickadee. We got back, and one of the banders looked at it and said "that has an awful lot of red on him....Is that a Red-breasted Nuthatch?" and then another bander jumps up and yells "IT IS!!!". That is probably my worst misidentification.