Is this a juvenile red-tailed hawk in my garden (in the middle of San Francisco)?

[Duncan Grant]

Today is the first time I got a clear look at who's been hanging out in my garden for the last week or so.



I guess this explains why the mourning doves and sparrows have abandoned the bird feeder. No need to tempt the resident hawk!

This must be a juvenile red-tailed hawk, right? "He" has orange/golden eyes and is about 12 inches tall (not including the tail). I'm a neophyte birder so you'll have to forgive my enthusiasm -- I don't often see hawks this close. :hi:

[Maestro]

1. No the tail is wrong for a red tailed hawk.

I believe from the rounded tail you have a juvenile Cooper's Hawk.

[XemaSab]

2. That's my guess too

but I am horrible at telling Cooper's from Sharp-shinned Hawk, so I'll leave it open to Accipiter sp.

[Duncan Grant]

6. Googling Sharp-shinned Hawk...

;)

Mmmm, could be?

[Duncan Grant]

4. Thank you!

I did some follow-up research based on your ID tip and this guy matches the profile for a Cooper's Hawk perfectly.

edit: A few years ago we found an injured hawk in the garden and had someone from the SF Zoo come out and capture it. It was a juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk with a broken wing. There's a wildlife care center at the Peninsula Humane Society in San Mateo -- so, we took the hawk there for rehabilitation and release. We also made a generous donation just to ensure that he got a little "extra" attention. :) After a few weeks, we called and found out that the hawk's wing healed and it was successfully released. I suppose I was looking forward to seeing another red-tailed hawk in this corner of SF but I'm glad I got to learn something new about the Cooper's Hawk.

Thanks again! :thumbsup:

[semillama]

3. I'm going with Juvie Cooper's Hawk

Accipters prey mainly on smaller birds, so if you have an active feeder, one of these guys is bound to show up too!

The slight fork in the tail confuses matters a bit, but I think the overall size of the bird plus the suburban habitat really points to Cooper's Hawk versus Sharp-shinned.

[Duncan Grant]

5. It must be a Cooper's Hawk.

After following up on Maestro's ID tip, I learned that this hawk can hunt in dense vegetation. That would explain why I usually see this guy out of the corner of my eye. He's there and then he's gone.

This hawk is also a ringer for other photos I found on-line of Cooper's.

Thanks for the help with an ID! :)

[Corkey Mineola]

7. it's a beauty

almost as cute as the guy who took the picture ;-)

[Corkey Mineola]

8. btw where'd you get the cool "Beat Prop 8" avatar... I want one

[bigwillq]

9. Nice pics!

I love hawks.