We live in a subdivision so this is a rare treat to see this bird on our fence.

Menkaure

smallbird.jpg (107 Kb, 77 downloads)

Wow, neat.
Thanx for sharing that.
Christina

Hey Menkaure,

Where do you live? That looks like some kind of falcon. Very cool.

Kim

Beautiful bird,

Love Molinda xx

What a nice picture and beautiful bird, thanks for posting
Pinky

We live in Michigan. A suburb of Detroit. This is a hawk although I'm not sure of exactly what kind.

Menkaure

I must have looked at a gazillion sites. I was amazed at how hard it was to find pictures to identify these guys. I'm by no means a bird expert but it looks like your bird visitor might be a female Red Tail juvenile... as they don't develope their actual red tail until their second year of life. She's a little puffed up there keeping warm I expect, making it a little harder to identify her. But here's a link of a female Red Tail... see what all of you think:
http://www.snew.freeuk.com/spirit1.htm

It's possible Nancy. So dang hard to tell with one from the back and the other from the front!
Christina

I'd say it was the right bird. I sat there inside the window looking at this beautiful bird for several minutes thru my telephoto lens and I'd say that pic is right. I now glance out the window every time I think of it to see if 'she' is back.
Thanks for the info.

Menkaure

I don't think it's a red tailed, check out the following pics...looks like a sharp shinned to me as they are a smaller hawk.



www.lookoutnow.com/feeder/sharp01.htm

WoW! What a cool thread!

Now that you have posted that link of the Sharp Shinned Hawk, I think it looks like 'our' hawk. I zoomed in on both pics and they both have a spot of yellow on the nostrils.
Now, if I could persuade the hawk to come back and turn around, we'd have more proof.

Menkaure

I have one like that, too! It is either a sharp shinned hawk or a cooper's hawk - they seem to look alike. AND they seem to be OK with subdivision living LOL

compare_sharp_cooper.jpg (89 Kb, 11 downloads) compare

Here is the one that visits me... when I need some "hawk medicine"

coopers_hawk1.jpg (188 Kb, 15 downloads) my hawk!

LOL! Too cool!

True, red-tailed hawks are pretty funny about subdivisions. They like their privacy. There's a ton of them here in KY as we're less populated, but I only spot them out on the country roads away from civilization.

My grandpa actually knows their "call," and can mimic them. I don't know how many red-tails he's conned into coming close over the years, but it's been a bunch!

Beautiful birds, thanks for sharing! I do love a pretty hawk.

Wow!

All of the pics are so beautiful! Thanks so much ...to all!

With Love and Appreciation,
Julie