I know I’m late to this party, but I wonder if this could be an immature N. Goshawk? Size is hard to figure in a photo, but Tom said it was quite large. I agree that females are larger than males in most raptors, but I’m wondering if we
are all assuming the typical hawk for this area, but it’s the time of year when ANYTHINJG could be coming through, especially given the weather. I have only occasionally seen a N. Goshawk in Boise, but it wouldn’t be unheard of. And, yes, it does have the
teardrop markings, but it also appears to have a white eyebrow line.
Just sayin’.
Tom McCabe, Boise
May also be a female as they are bigger than males.
John and Louisa,
Thanks for setting me straight. What threw me was the size of this Coopers. We would get them in the yard of our house in the North End, but never saw one close to this size. It must be eating well .
Tom Soniville
Looks like Cooper’s.
The “teardrop” shaped streaks on this juvenile bird is indicative of Cooper’s.
Also the rounded tail (though not glaringly evident on this bird).
Nice photos!
John Shortis.
On Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 07:49:07 PM MDT, Louisa Evers <elouisa603@…> wrote:
It’s an immature Cooper’s hawk
Pretty much the same here, just north of you a few miles. We have more juncos that I recall ever seeing, along with a lot of goldfinches and evening grosbeaks. House finch numbers are way down. Chickadee and nuthatch numbers are normal. No spring migrants though. Snow depth greater than 4 feet in the meadow.
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