Cooper's Hawk!!

[Shutterbug]

I don't know if there are any Cooper's Hawks along the AT. They are beautiful birds.

This one was fishing behind my home on Puget Sound today.

[saimyoji]

Double check your ID. That looks alot like an Osprey to me.

[Shutterbug]

Double check your ID. That looks alot like an Osprey to me.

Sibley's agrees with you. I was confused by the pronounced banding in the tail feathers. That is a distinctive feature of the Cooper's Hawk. Thanks for pointing out my error.

[Peaks]

Coopers Hawk is common in New England, including the White Mountains. Because they hang out in the woods, they are not seen that often, but they are there.

[rickb]

That is some amazing photography!!!!!

Southtbounders get the best deal when in comes to seeing a great variety howks. But I doubt many see an osprey get a fish.

FWIW, its very worthwhile walking down a blue blaze to Hawk Mountain in Septemeber and October and spending some time with the birders who will be delighted to share their optics and point ot what you are looking at.

Or for the mouse potatoes:

http://www.virtualbirder.com/cgi-bin...Loc5/BB_HMS_01

[bigcranky]

We have a pair of Cooper's hawks nesting near our house. Very attractive raptors, I must say. They also keep the goldfinch population down at our feeder <grin>.

[c.coyle]

I don't think I've ever seen a Cooper's Hawk in Pa., but I understand we have them. I agree with Rick. Hawk Mountain in Pa., near Eckville Shelter, is worth the blue blaze, especially in the fall.

As far as hawks that stick to forests, I had the jaw-dropping experience of seeing a Goshawk take a full-grown duck in the Adirondacks. I was looking out the kitchen window, daydreaming, and BANG! That is one serious predator.

[Time To Fly 97]

The Pinnacle (same area, on AT) may be a better choice for bird watching than Hawk Mountain. Although Hawk Mountain is marketed better (than a remote overlook), there are actually more birds at the Pinnacle!

TTF

[StarLyte]

Report your sighting here:

http://www.birdsource.org/

I use this site constantly. Because I live along the shores of Lake Erie in NE Ohio, I have migrators in my back yard. My cupboard is always stocked with a variety of bird food to attract them, with the exception of rodents

The most unusual birds in my back yard were the black crowned night herons
click here
absolutely the weirdest looking things I've ever seen....looked like penguins.

Occasionally I have the privilege of seeing hawks in my back yard, but just in the past 2 years, we have eagles on our shores.

Lucky me!!!

[Newb]

One of the most popular springtime Raptor viewing spots on the AT is at the Washington Monument/Dahlgren Campground in Maryland. They post observed bird totals on a bulletin board there. There's usually someone up on the monument looking at the birdies all Spring long. When I was there in April I saw an Osprey way way up high and a Red-Tailed hawk (I think).