this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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Neat! Looks like a Red-Tailed Hawk, but I can't tell definitively.
For comparison, for sure a red tailed hawk. Looks the same to me.
Mostly I was stuck between a Red-Tailed and Coopers Hawk, which is also common in this area and you're more likely to see in a city. The talon color and inability to gauge the size(Coopers are smaller) were giving me pause.
It could be. I'm not pretending to be an expert and you only get so much from the single angle. Just had the picture readily accessible on my phone and it looks pretty damn close to me.
The size is a decent point. Using the fence for scale, my memory of the one in my picture seems bigger.
Coopers and red tails are pretty distinctly different. Size is the first marker as red tails are significantly larger than coopers hawks. Also, coopers have very distinctive barred breasts and banded tails. You can also differentiate them through their wing profile; red tails are buteos and have a broad wing profile that is largely straight while coopers are accipitors and their wings are much more angular so that they can more deftly maneuver through wooded areas.
Immature Cooper's are brown, but I agree with you that this guy looks more like a red tail.
That’s what Merlin Bird ID told me too, so I think you’re right! Just thought it was pretty awesome to see in the middle of this massive city! I could even get quite close.
It is pretty cool to find it mid-city. I'd expect to see a Coopers Hawk or Peregrine Falcon, but not a Red-Tail. I lived in the Hudson Valley for a long time and they always avoided the cities in favor of the forests.