Can You Identify This Hawk?

On August 24 and 25, around 9:00 AM a hawk was seen perched on a dead tree near the river behind our house in Fredericton. It remained there for a considerable time, up to 40 minutes. The unusual thing was that it was wet, preening and continuously fluffed its feathers or sat with its wings and tail spread out, presumably to dry. It must have bathed in the nearby river and was using that perch to self-care. The only time it sat in normal position with normal contour was a few seconds on the second day before it flew. That made it difficult to identify. Let's see what you can do with identifying this hawk. Here are the identifying features: its shape was rounded (or it appeared so, the size was that of a small buteo, crow-sized or slightly larger). Its breast showed vertical stripes. The tail was boldly striped showing white at the tip and alternate white and dark even stripes. The head, upper breast and upper back were a rufous brown colour. The back was dark brown or gray with many large white spots. The tail appeared (at first) to be average length. The photos above show the notable features. At first I thought it must be a Red-shouldered Hawk. The size and shape were right. The tail looked right. The spots on the back were right (in my experience). I tentatively decided it might be a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk. It gave me plenty of time to take many photos (at a distance of 60 metres) using my super-zoom camera. Studying the photos with friends gave me a different perspective. We went over the individual features carefully. The size was right for a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Cooper's Hawk. The vertical stripes on the breast were bold and tear-drop shaped. That would indicate a Cooper's Hawk. The feet and legs were yellow which did not give any clues. The rufous colour on the head, upper breast and upper back made me think of Red-shouldered although we didn't see any red on the shoulder. The tail showed white stripes on the ventral aspect and gray stripes on the dorsal aspect. That would indicate Cooper's. The white spots on the back definitely pointed to Red-shouldered to me because I had seen them on Red-shouldered before but never on an Accipiter. It was difficult to tell what hawk we were looking at with it fluffed up and in abnormal position.

Hawk Showing Tear-drop Striping on Breast

Hawk Showing White Patches on Back In one poor picture from the first day the tail appeared long. See below.

It was time for an expert to examine the photos. We sent a batch off and later it was determined that the hawk was a Cooper's Hawk. That confirmed most of the field marks. But what about the shape and the white spots on the back? The second day's visit gave the opportunity for many more photos. That confirmed many white patches on the back and wings. Only at the last few seconds before the bird took off did it sit in a normal position and shape. See below for two views of the tail, dorsal and ventral.

That short view of the bird, as it finished its preening and took off, confirmed that identification. Its shape and size were definitely that of a Cooper's Hawk. The tail was long and rounded on the tip characteristic of a Cooper's. The breast striping confirmed it as a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. That was a difficult identification but an enjoyable puzzle. The whole problem was that the bird never until the last few seconds on two separate visits, sat in a normal postion. The long sleek appearance of a Cooper's Hawk was not evident. What about the white patches on the back and wings? That really fooled me. I have never seen that beforre on an Accipiter. According to the expert, some Accipiters have spots on their backs. I checked 100s of images and Sharp-shinneds, Cooper's and Northern Goshawks and all three species can have white spots on their backs, although that feature appears to be uncommon. Also, what is a juvenile Cooper's Hawk doing here in August? According to the literature, Cooper's Hawks breeding range extends into Maine (Sibley's) or southern New Brunswick (National Geographic). In 'Birds of New Brunswick: An Annotated List' it says the species is a rare summer resident and that there have been a few nesting records. Peterson Field Guide, 'Hawks of North America' shows a breeding range in southern and south-western NB. So, what I learned is that nesting Cooper's Hawks are unusual breeders in NB but they do exist. What we were looking at was a juvenile probably from one of those rare nesting pairs here. What a privilege to have enjoyed this hawk! Note: the absence of formatting in this post is due to problems with the blog software.