West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle Wildlife Watch: Young eagle again? Or?

February 23, 2009 at 8:45 pm | In West Seattle news, Wildlife | 20 Comments

Thanks to Eric and Maria for sharing that photo – they say their kids spotted the bird in their Admiral backyard earlier today, and they’re wondering what it is. Their first guess was peregrine falcon; we’re thinking maybe it’s one of the young eagles (as featured in a recent WSB photo — second one in this story — and also as seen today on Beach Drive Blog) … thoughts?

20 Comments

1. It looks like a hawk to me. I’d say it’s either a sharp-shinned or Cooper’s hawk.

   Comment by Minette — 8:50 pm February 23, 2009 #

2. I agree it’s definitely a hawk, but I was thinking a red-tailed. To small to be an eagle, plus the beak is not right.

   Comment by JeffH — 8:58 pm February 23, 2009 #

3. My $.02.

   If I could see the shape of the tail, I’d have a better guess.

   But, I’m gonna’ guess a pretty large Cooper’s hawk, too. The darker feathers on the front of the head might be a clue, if it’s not from a shadow or the camera.

   Sharp-shinned are slightly slimmer in profile and have a smaller head, I think.

   Comment by d — 9:19 pm February 23, 2009 #

4. Cooper’s hawk is my guess as it looks too big for sharp-shinned. there were coopers hawk nests in both lincoln park and camp long last year. They are an infrequent visit to my bird feeder (to feed on birds). but they also plunked a rat out of my back yard while i was watching. just like wild kingdom!

   Comment by B-squared — 9:28 pm February 23, 2009 #

5. Seattle Audobon has a great site called BirdWeb with descriptions and photos of birds in our area. Here’s the link to the hawk section
   http://birdweb.org/Birdweb/family_details.aspx?family_id=37

   I agree with the others that it is likely either a sharp-shinned or a Cooper’s hawk.

   Comment by Alcina — 9:40 pm February 23, 2009 #

6. My guess is that it is an owl. Maybe a screech owl? The size of the head and the shape of the beak seem wrong for a raptor.

   Comment by cjboffoli — 9:40 pm February 23, 2009 #

7. All the pidgeons have split in a hurry.

   Comment by Jiggers — 9:53 pm February 23, 2009 #

8. It’d be helpful to have a size estimate — hard to tell from the photo. BTW, I heard a great horned owl earlier this evening, near Lincoln Park.

   Comment by Jerald — 10:44 pm February 23, 2009 #

9. I think this is a different bird shown here at WSB than what I captured at Emma Schmitz photo’d at Beach Drive Blog. The bird I photo’d does not have the white feathers on it’s chest…these are two different birds.

   Comment by Rhonda Porter — 10:57 pm February 23, 2009 #

10. Next time it lands they should shoot it so we can get a better look.

    Comment by rbj — 11:03 pm February 23, 2009 #

11. A beautiful bird regardless. And that beak could probably tear a car prowler into mincemeat.

    Comment by jeannie — 11:24 pm February 23, 2009 #

12. I looked around and it looks like a cooper’s hawk to me. I found an image on google that is a twin.

    Comment by James B. Matthews — 11:25 pm February 23, 2009 #

13. This is definately a hawk. I’ve had a chance to see this bird twice in my yard about a week apart. This bird is relatively small, it is about the size of a small hawk and has banding on it’s tail. We have neighbors who a few months ago put in about four bird feeders. I believe the smaller birds associated with that is what has brought it to our neighborhood.

    Comment by Belvidere — 6:45 am February 24, 2009 #

14. I think it’s either a merlin or a cooper’s hawk.

    Comment by Longfellar — 8:03 am February 24, 2009 #

15. I think it is a Cooper’s Hawk. We had the exact type of bird in our backyard last Summer during a very heavy rain/thunder event. He was taking shelter under the canopy of our apple tree. I understand they eat little birds, and we have lots of bird feeders. Just wonderful to see so close!

    Comment by Lisa — 8:39 am February 24, 2009 #

16. Cooper’s Hawk. They love pigeons, snakes, and other small critters.

    Comment by iggy — 9:10 am February 24, 2009 #

17. I double-checked my birding bible: National Geographic Guide to North American Birds.

    Agreed – Final answer: immature male Cooper’s.

    Cooper’s tail will have two or three thick, dark horizontal banding and a rounded tail – versus the blunt banded tail of a sharp-shinned.

    When it matures, the dark skull feathers (male only) will become more pronounced in black, the back feathering will go toward more dark grey-brown, the chest feathering will go from narrow vertical brown striation to russet horizontal patterning with no white patches, it’s eyes will change from yellow to red.

    Cooper’s also will perch in the open like this – they are not as shy as the sharp-shinned, which stay in tree canopies.

    I highly recommend Nat’l Geographic Guide to N.A. Birds!

    Comment by d — 9:32 am February 24, 2009 #

18. I believe D is correct. Young Coopers. At first I thought one of my flying monkeys had gotten free…

    Comment by big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. — 12:37 pm February 24, 2009 #

19. Not to put too fine a point on it, but just fyi, I’m d from barely West Seattle. I’m sure “D” around Admiral and “d.” from around the Junction, would appreciate the distinction. I write poorly enough and often enough that I’m certain they do not want anyone confusing my blather with anything they might contribute.

    Just for the record.

    Otherwise-

    “Flying monkeys”?? Holy Wicked Witch! Keep those critters on their leash when you give them their baths!

    Comment by d — 1:09 pm February 24, 2009 #

20. Yes, deffo a Cooper’s Hawk. The only other hawk streaked vertically brown all across the chest and belly is the Sharp-shinned Hawk and the Merlin. Sharp-shins have a smaller, rounder head and blurrier streaking. Merlins also tend to be darker-streaked and have a large, round head. They also don’t perch on backyard fences. They sit up high so they can chase birds down from a distance, using their long-distance high speed. Typical falcon. Cooper’s Hawks are probably the most common raptor in West Seattle, along with Eagles and (in summer) Ospreys.

    Comment by JumboJim — 5:36 pm February 24, 2009 #

Sorry, comment time is over.