This is such an excellent breakdown, James. I have confused Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks often in the past. Lately, I've been fortunate to encounter a local family of Cooper's Hawks many times.
These experiences have helped me learn much about their size, shape, markings, and manners. Now to finally sight a Northern Goshawk which I have yet to see! Thanks for the mention as well - very much appreciated.
Thank you Neil. I’ve never seen a Goshawk either! It’s one of the lifers I’d be most thrilled by. An adult would not be too hard to id, but the juveniles are right in the thick of the accipiter challenge. You did cross my mind as a birder who has had an amazing Coops year as I wrote this—granted expertise by Nature’s generosity in allowing you so many encounters.
Thank you so much Sydney. A Blue Jay might not pose the ID challenges of an accipiter, but that doesn’t mean they are any less special! Their commonness makes them special, and reinforces the difficulty of getting good photos. Ample opportunity, but the birds are, as always, entitled to take such opportunities away. Blue Jays often do, and seem to relish it.
Outstanding and Beautiful photos, James. Yes, hawks hunt and eat birds. They are predators, after all. They differ from humans in one major respect in that they hunt only to eat. Hawks do not have the luxuary of supernarkets.
Thank you, Perry. Yes, the hawks are much more in tune with where their food comes from than humans are. They have to hunt it themselves. Farmers, hunters, gardeners, and anglers are more in touch with the origins of food, but most humans are out to lunch—no pun intended.
This is an excellent article, I'm sure it would be invaluable if I were in North America. Here in the UK, we have two accipters, the Goshawk (Accipter gentilis) which is large and uncommon and the Sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus) which is small and common and easily recognisable in flight. I love seeing Sparrowhawks fly across the rooftops. I once saw a Sparrowhawk kill a small bird, which was quite a spectacle, but spoiled all round by a cat then frightening off the hawk and stealing the prey.
Thank you Juliet. That is very interesting that the Sparrowhawk is an accipiter! I know some people refer to American Kestrel as Sparrowhawk, but they are falcons. Cats and birds are unfortunately a bad mix. @Oscar Hawthorne recently had an article about how cats are bad for birds. Thank you for reading and for your comment.
Excellent piece! I love accipiters- it is always fascinating to watch them hunting around the birdfeeder, or among trees in the old gardens of my small town. Your tips on how to tell apart Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are great- hopefully that will help next time I see one.
Thank you Cody! There is much to love about these birds. Part of it is the challenge, it requires more awareness than usual to tell them apart. Appreciate you reading.
I honestly feel so much better reading your words that telling accipiters apart is a rite of passage. Seriously, how many times I have tried to figure out whether I just saw a cooper’s or a sharp shinned. What a great essay!
Also, the last three photos are just stunning. I clicked on them and zoomed in as much as possible to get a closer look at the plumage patterns. The quality of your photographs is truly impressive! I would be curious to hear what kind of camera you are working with, if that’s something you’re open to sharing. I’m glad you’ve been sharing older posts.
Thank you so much Emma. The way I see it there are some aspects of birding that keep it interesting and challenging—accipiters are one of them.
Most of these were with a Nikon d500 and either a sigma 150-600 or a Nikon 200-500. That camera stopped working so I replaced it with a Nikon z8 and Nikon 180-600. Birding can be a cheap pastime until it becomes bird photography. The z8 is magnificent but I will always have a soft spot for d500s, many good years with that body. I’m a Nikon guy. What do you shoot with?
I would love to get into an actual camera - it’s the reason I ask wildlife/nature photographers whose work I enjoy - right now I am using an iPhone 13 Promax to the best of my growing abilities.
Congrats on reaching the 500 subscriber milestone, James! And thank you for sharing this detailed field guide of your own on hawk identification. I’ve learned a lot. I still can’t tell the difference between Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, but feel encouraged with the Cooper’s Hawks. I was lucky enough this afternoon to see a mature Bald Eagle circling overhead, right over a downtown street corner and a few blocks from the Willamette River.
Thank you so much Heidi. Maybe I’ll have to write something up about downy vs hairy woodpeckers! You would absolutely learn to tell them apart very quickly. Mature Bald Eagles are always a treat!
I always go back and forth to the bird books and All About Birds, in trying to discern between the Sharp-shinned and the Cooper's. The size is always tell tale and helpful. Thanks for this helpful post James.
This is such an excellent breakdown, James. I have confused Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks often in the past. Lately, I've been fortunate to encounter a local family of Cooper's Hawks many times.
These experiences have helped me learn much about their size, shape, markings, and manners. Now to finally sight a Northern Goshawk which I have yet to see! Thanks for the mention as well - very much appreciated.
Thank you Neil. I’ve never seen a Goshawk either! It’s one of the lifers I’d be most thrilled by. An adult would not be too hard to id, but the juveniles are right in the thick of the accipiter challenge. You did cross my mind as a birder who has had an amazing Coops year as I wrote this—granted expertise by Nature’s generosity in allowing you so many encounters.
I've seen Goshawks a couple times; in the Pacific Northwest where I originate from there is a lot of the right sort of habitat for them.
Excellent article James.
Thank you Sandra
SUCH a gorgeous exploration - be sure to soak up every word and stunning image!
And thank you so much for the mention, James, I’m so glad the Blue Jays made you're list, they're very special 💙
Thank you so much Sydney. A Blue Jay might not pose the ID challenges of an accipiter, but that doesn’t mean they are any less special! Their commonness makes them special, and reinforces the difficulty of getting good photos. Ample opportunity, but the birds are, as always, entitled to take such opportunities away. Blue Jays often do, and seem to relish it.
Outstanding and Beautiful photos, James. Yes, hawks hunt and eat birds. They are predators, after all. They differ from humans in one major respect in that they hunt only to eat. Hawks do not have the luxuary of supernarkets.
Thank you, Perry. Yes, the hawks are much more in tune with where their food comes from than humans are. They have to hunt it themselves. Farmers, hunters, gardeners, and anglers are more in touch with the origins of food, but most humans are out to lunch—no pun intended.
This is an excellent article, I'm sure it would be invaluable if I were in North America. Here in the UK, we have two accipters, the Goshawk (Accipter gentilis) which is large and uncommon and the Sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus) which is small and common and easily recognisable in flight. I love seeing Sparrowhawks fly across the rooftops. I once saw a Sparrowhawk kill a small bird, which was quite a spectacle, but spoiled all round by a cat then frightening off the hawk and stealing the prey.
Thank you Juliet. That is very interesting that the Sparrowhawk is an accipiter! I know some people refer to American Kestrel as Sparrowhawk, but they are falcons. Cats and birds are unfortunately a bad mix. @Oscar Hawthorne recently had an article about how cats are bad for birds. Thank you for reading and for your comment.
Congratulations James and as always beautiful images!
Thank you Shital!
Excellent piece! I love accipiters- it is always fascinating to watch them hunting around the birdfeeder, or among trees in the old gardens of my small town. Your tips on how to tell apart Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are great- hopefully that will help next time I see one.
Thank you Cody! There is much to love about these birds. Part of it is the challenge, it requires more awareness than usual to tell them apart. Appreciate you reading.
I honestly feel so much better reading your words that telling accipiters apart is a rite of passage. Seriously, how many times I have tried to figure out whether I just saw a cooper’s or a sharp shinned. What a great essay!
Also, the last three photos are just stunning. I clicked on them and zoomed in as much as possible to get a closer look at the plumage patterns. The quality of your photographs is truly impressive! I would be curious to hear what kind of camera you are working with, if that’s something you’re open to sharing. I’m glad you’ve been sharing older posts.
Thank you so much Emma. The way I see it there are some aspects of birding that keep it interesting and challenging—accipiters are one of them.
Most of these were with a Nikon d500 and either a sigma 150-600 or a Nikon 200-500. That camera stopped working so I replaced it with a Nikon z8 and Nikon 180-600. Birding can be a cheap pastime until it becomes bird photography. The z8 is magnificent but I will always have a soft spot for d500s, many good years with that body. I’m a Nikon guy. What do you shoot with?
I would love to get into an actual camera - it’s the reason I ask wildlife/nature photographers whose work I enjoy - right now I am using an iPhone 13 Promax to the best of my growing abilities.
Congrats on reaching the 500 subscriber milestone, James! And thank you for sharing this detailed field guide of your own on hawk identification. I’ve learned a lot. I still can’t tell the difference between Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, but feel encouraged with the Cooper’s Hawks. I was lucky enough this afternoon to see a mature Bald Eagle circling overhead, right over a downtown street corner and a few blocks from the Willamette River.
Thank you so much Heidi. Maybe I’ll have to write something up about downy vs hairy woodpeckers! You would absolutely learn to tell them apart very quickly. Mature Bald Eagles are always a treat!
Thank you, James. I will look forward to that field guide tutorial.
I always go back and forth to the bird books and All About Birds, in trying to discern between the Sharp-shinned and the Cooper's. The size is always tell tale and helpful. Thanks for this helpful post James.