ID this bird

[witchhunt]

Can someone tell me if this is a hawk, falcon, or what? He's mean and very fast. About 14" from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. He also has a big brother that comes around.

[jb31dtr]

From my books, I believe the hawk is an accipiter called a sharp-shinned hawk. There is also a bigger version called a Cooper's Hawk that is 15-20" long so that could be your "big brother."

[witchhunt]

Thanks.

[PanzerFaust]

Looks like a Chicken Hawk......

And you're a chicken...

So are you gonna come peacable?

or am I gonna have to muss you up?

[witchhunt]

Looks like a Chicken Hawk......

And you're a chicken...

So are you gonna come peacable?

or am I gonna have to muss you up?

Classic. We Looney Tunes fans are a dying breed.

[PanzerFaust]

You are good Witchunt!!!!

[witchhunt]

You are good Witchunt!!!!

There are few things in life as funny as Looney Tunes. George Carlin, 3Stooges, Monty Python, and Archie Bunker, to name a few.

[metalchurch]

Nice shot of that bird Bill. It's rare to see those anymore especially down off the mountains.
I saw a Falcon fly over my car on Rt.99 a few years ago, and that was the first I saw in a long time.

Do you feed them?

Witchhunt = Bird Whisperer

[PanzerFaust]

I've caught glimpse of a Bald Eagle 4 times in the past few years...

twice here in the woods behind my house once down at work and once 3 weeks ago coming home through Bedford county....

It was on Rt 220 sitting on a wire looking out over a freshly harvested corn field.. No doubt looking for bunnies !! hehe.....

When you see one of those you have no doubt what it is!!!! hehe...

[KyleMayket]

I saw 2 bald eagles at the Juniata in September on my last fishing trip of the year, damn are they a gorgeous bird.

[Ron]

Nice shot of that bird Bill. It's rare to see those anymore especially down off the mountains.
I saw a Falcon fly over my car on Rt.99 a few years ago, and that was the first I saw in a long time.

Do you feed them?

Witchhunt = Bird Whisperer

That's crazy, I see small (coopers) and large hawks (red tail and red shouldered) all of the time in State College in a fence row that runs between my workplace and a S&A development. At least a few per week. Maybe it's just a concentrated hunting spot, lots of chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and small birds there too.

[witchhunt]

Nice shot of that bird Bill. It's rare to see those anymore especially down off the mountains.
I saw a Falcon fly over my car on Rt.99 a few years ago, and that was the first I saw in a long time.

Do you feed them?

Witchhunt = Bird Whisperer

Nah, where he's sitting is a couple feet from the bird feeder. Plenty of fat sparrows to pick from.

[songsmith]

That's crazy, I see small (coopers) and large hawks (red tail and red shouldered) all of the time in State College in a fence row that runs between my workplace and a S&A development. At least a few per week. Maybe it's just a concentrated hunting spot, lots of chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and small birds there too.

Happy Valley's a famous area for raptor migration routes. I've heard there have been 300 sighted in a day from atop Pine Grove Mt. It usually doesn't happen until late Feb., though.
There are a nesting pair of bald eagles near the breast of Raystown Dam, that patrol the Juniata down to about Mill Creek, and I had an amazing day at Canoe creek about 10 years ago, where I saw 14 hawks in one giant spairaling group, and a big bald eagle on a limb less than 30 ft away. It was incredible, we just stared at one another for at least 10 minutes.--->JMS

[onetooloud]

I tend to agree that u may have a sharp shinned hawk keeping your sparrows in check.

It should be about the size of a large jay.

If you give a crap an Accipiter is a hawk with short wings and a long tail.

They feed on small birds such as sparrows and warblers, as well as small rodents and insects.

If you happen to be outside and hear this bird it has a voice which sounds like kick-kick-kick and also the shrill squeal of a hawk.

If this is a sharp shinned hawk its most likely wintering here as they are much more common in Canadain coniferous forests. They are said to be intolerant of civilization and scarce in settled areas. Bigfoot and this bird probably share a cabin.

In winter the audubon society claims you may see one just about anywhere.

[Ron]

That shrill hawk squeal is one of the most "metal" sounds ever!

[metalchurch]

That shrill hawk squeal is one of the most "metal" sounds ever!

Hahaha!!
put me in the mind of this for some reason:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI5D7DLk9gM

(I wanna cover this one someday)

[AnimalInstinct625]

I am an avid birdwatcher, and I am here to say that it is DEFINITELY a Cooper's Hawk.

Sharp-shinned Hawks are smaller, Northern Goshawks are much larger (and rarer). I've been birdwatching since I was 4 years old, and illustrating wildlife and birds JUST as long. There are quite a few people here on rockpage that will attest for my stream of bird knowledge.

I have a Cooper's Hawk that loves to hunt the birdfeeders. Long tails and short rounded wings make it extremely agile in FOREST terrain, while falcons and Buteos (red-tails, red-shoulders, and broad wings) hunt more in open country.


The Cooper's Hawk is 15-20 inches in length, and has a wingspan of about 2 feet, to 35 inches. Whereas, the similarly plumaged Sharp-shin is only about the size of a Mourning Dove. Usually around 10 inches.

[songsmith]

That shrill hawk squeal is one of the most "metal" sounds ever!

Last spring the wife and I were kayaking, when I spotted an eagle and showed it to her. She said, "I think that's a buzzard" in a what-a-dumbass kind of tone... then it keened. "Screeeeeee!"
"Oh. okay."
Husbands love it when that happens. ----->JMS

[YankeeRose]

It could be either a Cooper's or a Northern Harrier. Possibly even a Loud Mouthed Schnook!




HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone, and may all your punkins be tied down!

[DirtySanchez]

That's a Goddamned Pileated Woodpecker!

[songsmith]

Hairy-chested Nutscratch. Possibly a Whore-eyed Soulsucker.
But I think it's a starling. ------->JMS

[witchhunt]

Hairy-chested Nutscratch. Possibly a Whore-eyed Soulsucker.
But I think it's a starling. ------->JMS

Soulsucker would be an awesome name for a metal band. I heard Alex Lifeson is gonna have a role in a new vampire movie called SUCK.

[J Michaels]

Mrs J is the Park Naturalist at Lake Guntersville State Park down here in Ala-freakin-bama, and majored in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Penn State - so, in other words, she knows her shit. She is basically in agreement with the previous (indeed, the first) assessment, adding that it is either a female sharp-shinned or a male Cooper's Hawk. The Cooper's Hawk is indeed the bigger of the two, but in raptor species females are larger, and there is an overlap in the size between the female sharpie and the male Cooper's. She says this one is likely the Cooper's Hawk, because the tail looks rounded off, whereas the sharpie's tail is more squared off.

There ya go.

Try this page as well for more info - the one pic (of the Cooper's, on the right) especially looks like the photo in this thread:

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/learning ... er-s-hawks

[J Michaels]

Though it could be a double breasted mattress thrasher........

[Charltor]

Possibly a Whore-eyed Soulsucker.

you met my ex-wife before?!?!