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.
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 .
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.
Came across this hawk in the foothills this afternoon. First thought was a sharp-shinned, but it seems too large. Is this another form of red tail morph?
After over twenty years of Sandhills faithfully showing up a bit after the 20th of March, this year they just flew over last week and kept going. We have over two feet of snow in the fields and more at the house.
It’s two weeks about until usual hummer arrival and one of the hooks I hang feeders from is under a drift and others are unreachable. It’s chickadees at feeders with magpies.
A few other FOY arrivals along the Snake River. Yesterday, had sev thousand Tundra Swans come over in groups of up to 200, for most of late morning & early afternoon. Also, yesterday, DC Cormorants showed up working the river. Today, both White Pelicans & DC Cormorants were forming mixed rafts of birds, floating downstream with, mainly, the cormorants leading.
Others, more & more Turkey Vultures are showing. Had a N Shrike around the place for most of the winter, but appears to have moved on, now. Townsend’s Solitaires are thinning out. Probably best bird of this winter was a single pass-through by a Merlin, scattering the House Finches & BC Chickadees at the feeder. Kept hoping for some Red or White-winged Crossbills, but none as of yet. Also, since saw a Varied Thrush this fall, hoping for another appearance this spring.
Brian Carrigan Blackfoot
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
