BIRDING: Distinguishing different types of hawks not always an easy task (7 photos)

I was hoping the owl I’ve heard lately would show itself so I could write about it for this column. It is the bird typically associated with Halloween. I did, nevertheless, have a hawk land in the tree at the end of my deck this week, and I thought a Halloween Hawk was pretty spooktacular. It makes an appropriate shadowy figure lurking in the bare branches of the tree. 

Hawks have landed on my deck or nearby several times over the years. Sometimes they get birds at the feeders, a truly ghoulish thing. These are times when I consider if it’s fair to lure smaller birds to a concentrated area and therefor make them more obvious to a predator.

I am tempted to say each of the hawk visits have been made by Cooper’s Hawks. I may be wrong. They are difficult to distinguish from the smaller Sharp-shined Hawk and the larger Northern Goshawk. These three hawks are the only birds of prey called accipiters in Canada. Hinterland Who’s Who (hww,ca) says, “All accipiters generally have similar colouring, small heads, long tails, and short rounded wings. The female of each species grows larger than the male.”

In supporting my hesitation to firmly identify the visiting hawks, hww.ca goes on to say: “The Cooper’s Hawk is intermediate in size; the male Cooper’s is easily confused with the female Sharp-shinned Hawk, and the female Cooper’s Hawk is almost as large as the male Northern Goshawk. There are distinguishing characteristics—for example, the shape of the tail is square for the Sharp-shinned Hawk, rounded for the Cooper’s Hawk, and almost square for the Northern Goshawk—but identification is difficult.”

Juveniles also have different plumage than adults. Perhaps this confusion fits with deception of Halloween costumes and difficult in knowing who is what, and what is who.

Feederwatch.org has a great comparison chart between Cooper’s and Sharp-shined Hawks.

Cooper’s Hawks are one of eight hawk species in Ontario that include the two just mentioned as well as Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk,  Broad-winged Hawk, and the Northern Harrier. Cooper’s are medium sized, with males measuring about 39 cm in length with a wing span of 62-90 cm, females about 45 cm. with a wing span of 75-90 cm.

In a devilish fashion, the iris in younger birds is yellow, and it is orange or red in older birds.

Although some Cooper’s migrate, they are found within their range through winter haunting open woodlands, mature forests, treed suburbs and backyards. I have certainly seen them in winter. As they skulk about in bushes waiting to ambush, leaveless trees make them more visible.

Audubon.org describes their feeding behaviour: Usually hunts by stealth, moving from perch to perch in dense cover, listening and watching, then putting on a burst of speed to overtake prey. Sometimes cruises low over ground, approaching from behind shrubbery to take prey by surprise”.

It goes on to say, “Feeds mainly on medium-sized birds, in the size range of robins, jays, flickers, also on larger and smaller birds. Also eats many small mammals, such as chipmunks, tree squirrels, ground squirrels, mice, bats. Sometimes eats reptiles, insects.”  I imagine hawks as the boogeyman of young birds’ and mammals’ nightmares.

The hawk the other day certainly took me by surprise. It suddenly appeared over the deck and flew into the tree. It was a neat trick, and definitely a treat.

Halloween happiness to all.

I share experiences of bird visitors to this property with readers every couple of weeks. Until next time, keep your eye to the sky, and look for birds that may come by.

Rosaleen Egan is a freelance journalist, a storyteller, and a playwright. She blogs on her website.