Do you like a birding challenge? This beautiful raptor visited my southeast Calgary yard late in November. I thought I would post these pictures without identifying the species, to give you a chance to test your raptor identification skills. Leave us a comment below, and tell us what you think it is.
This bird isn't injured, he's just wearing some of his lunch.
Posted by Pat Bumstead
Juvenile peregrine falcon?
It’s either a cooper’s hawk or a sharp-shinned hawk. hard to tell from the picture. If it has skinny legs and feet, it’s a sharp-shinned.
Pingback: Another Sharp-shinned Hawk | Birds Calgary
Juvenile sharpie? When do we get the answer 🙂
Nice photos!
Pat: I would say a Cooper’s Hawk. It might have been the same one I had over my way as I live only a few block’s away
from you. Great pictures and a nice looking bird what ever kind it is.
I’m going to second Rose, Prairie Merlin is my guess.
Pat: I think it’s a juvenile Northern Goshawk, though I haven’t been able to rule out Cooper’s Hawk.. Nice bird either way, but I hope he doesn’t finish off your yard specialties like Common Grackle and Mourning Dove, before the Christmas Count on Sunday!
What fabulous pictures. Is it a merlin? From his colour and size that would be my guess.
Oh, and the wing-tips in relation to the length of the tail. I knew I was missing something in my ID criteria. Merlin wing-tips would be closer to the end of the tail, whereas Sharp-shinned Hawks wing-tips end just posterior to the hips.
Without something for scale, I’d say likely a Sharp-shinned Hawk, based on the straight tail bars, and it seems a tad big to be a Merlin. It looks awfully close to the Sharp-shinned Hawk I had in my yard back in March who I think may be stalking my feeders again this winter, but with adult plumage now…
I couldn’t help but notice the blood on the chest. I’m hoping it’s from a recent kill rather than an injury.
Guess is thats an Osprey.