Fooled

I was hawking in North Central PA. Two raptors were heading toward me. They had long wings, with zero dihedral, and were flying wing tip to wing tip. The hawks were grey; No doubt female goshawks. But no! They were Red- tailed hawks.

In Yuma in winter, on high, was a gull or a white falcon, maybe a Gyr  falcon. About a day later, I realized the bird might have been a White- tailed hawk. NB.

What bird

There is a bird or raptor in the sky, quite deep, at altitude of about 200 feet. The bird might be tail on or head on. The wings have zero dihedral and are flat and stiff. The wings appear to be long. So I am thinking, here on Puget Sound, that the bird is a hawk, and probably a goshawk and probably female. But, the bird could be also a Peregrine Falcon or a Raven. The color appears to be dark. I want the bird to turn so to get a look at the tail length. If the tail is long, then it is not a Raven. When the hawk flaps, I might get a look at the wing beats and the structure of the wing. So now, within seconds, I might be able to nail the species.

I say that the hawk is probably a female NG because often the female will take to the sky. The male will not often take to the sky; usually to be with the female. This is my unscientific thinking: There are many more female NG than male NG. Of course, if male NG are at low altitude or hanging in the tree tops, I will miss those sightings. I am sure there are many more female Cooper’s hawks then there are male Cooper’s. And many more female Sharp- shinned hawks than the male Sharpie. Also, there are many more female Harriers than male Harriers. These are my conjectures because— I age and sex accipiters and Harriers and Ospreys.

Often the the female NG will take to the sky with a companion and the partner will be another female NG. When the nesting- mating season starts, then the female will hook-up with a male.NB.

Tail-less

In October, 2019, I observed six crows in flight. Observed through the sliding glass doors. One of the crows had no tail. This crow was flying in a normal manner.

In Tucson, I was hawking from the South Kolb Road overpass. There was an accipiter cutting across the desert scrub, heading somewhat toward me, but more to the broadside at about 100 feet altitude, heading into the Voyager RV Resort, which contains hundreds of palm trees, many of them very tall. This goshawk had no tail. Yet, it was flying normally.

The take away; you do not need color, pattern, or field marks (or a tail), to identify accipiters. The same can be said toward many other raptors. You can use size, shape, proportions, and wing movements to identify many raptors. NB.

The thought: I have watched very little football, over the many years. I was of the opinion that Russell Wilson was such a lucky player. Now, I realize he is a great player and quarterback. Russell Will! NB.

Accipiter wings

Accipiter wings are best observed when there is zero texture of greenery, barren mountain side, or the many colors of trees in the fall, in the background. Therefore, the background should be the sky. And the hawk should be, for starters, at somewhat close range. It is best at near overhead, or forty degrees off zenith.

The Cooper’s wings (the outline of the wings) are not as clean- cut as the Sharp-shinned hawk (SSHA), which also means the NG, as the NG is the same shape as the SSHA. The COHA wings appear to be somewhat blurry; That is the trailing edge and the leading edge. Also the tip of the wing is not as well defined as on the NG.

Why this is— I do not know. Here might be the answer. Often the COHA will glide with its wings bowed downward and the primary feathers are spread. Possibly the wing is also bowed along its length. Or the leading and the trailing edge is slightly turned under.

Wing beats: COHA are stiff ; the entire wing moves as a unit. The wings move straight up and down as one unit. The wing beats are not that deep. Also, each wing can act independently of the other wing, which might give the impression that the hawk does, or does not, have control of its wings!

NG wing beats can be very rapid. And deep, and flexible. I say; the wing beats can be as rapid as the SSHA. Since the wings of the male and especially the female are much larger than the SSHA, it appears that the wing beats are not as rapid as the SSHA. NG wing beats can be loose and relaxed, somewhat as a crow or a Red- tailed hawk. NG wing beats can mimic the COHA! In photographs, NG can show wing tips splayed outward with separation of the primary feathers, on the up stroke. N B.

More on lanky

All three female accipiters can have somewhat long wings. When the wings are extended fully outward and flat the wings can appear lanky. The leading edge and the trailing edge are are quite straight and meet at the tip. The tip is now rounded, or sharply rounded, or oval shaped. Therefore, lanky- looking. This is not what is meant by the Cooper’s hawk looking lanky. All three accipiters (females) can now be called lanky, because of the long tail and the nearly- long or long- looking wing.

We can also say that the stubbier the wing (The male), the more the hawk will appear lanky. Now we are concerned with the entire length of the hawk. The accipiter with the longest tail on average, is the Cooper’s hawk. The accipiter with the longest wing is the Sharp- shinned hawk (female). Some books will say the NG (female). I say the NG is basically a Sharp- shinned hawk. They are made from the same mold— Nature’s mold. There is only one main difference— Size. I am not the only one who thinks in this direction. Another difference is that some Sharp- shinned hawks (SSHA) do have a waist.

So, here is the gist of being lanky. Authorities say the body of the Cooper’s hawk (COHA) is tubular and the tail is long. I say— add in the waist to the evaluation. And that is what is meant by the COHA  as being lanky.

Also, the chest of the NG is robust, and of course, the SSHA. So we can compare robust to tubular. But, watch out! In winter, the COHA can take- on a robust chest.

I am going to add this to the equation. When you think of SSHA or COHA, you should never leave out Northern Goshawk! NB.

What is lanky

Often the word lanky is used to describe a Cooper’s hawk ( COHA). But the word is never described.

You know what is a lanky person, or a stocky person, or a pudgy person. If you were in a classroom and the professor were to define what is lanky by using geometry; Then you might become irritated, because you know lankiness. I believe you will appreciate the way I define the condition of lanky relating to the COHA. We will go right to the heart of lanky. The main contributing factor of lanky is that a COHA has a waist! Some, many?, Sharp- shinned hawks will have a waist (SSHA). Northern goshawks do not have a waist.

The body of the COHA will taper abruptly into the base of the tail. Therefore, the base of the tail will be thinner than the body of the hawk. The tail should be completely folded. There is another form of waist. The body of the hawk will taper gently, then will level out toward the tail, then the base of the folded tail. This makes for a long waist! Of course it is best to observe the waist when the hawk is near your overhead, or perched, and you are observing from straight-on, face-on, meaning from the rear ideally.

Observe; Peterson Field Guides— HAWKS ; William S. Clark/ Brian K. Wheeler. Copy-write 1987. Plate 6 Adult accipiters. What is wrong with this artwork? The COHA has zero waist!

I am standing on my neighbor’s front porch. A raptor is coming toward me at an angle. The hawk is an accipiter. The hawks is very close. It is a COHA, because of the wing beats. The hawk is about twenty feet away and is about twenty feet in the air, so it is near the overhead. I immediately went to the waist of the hawk. To verify that the hawk was not a NG.

So , I suggest go for the wing beats, then go right to the waist. Do not try and pick out field marks. I also realized the outline of the wings; the leading edge and the trailing edge, which was not well defined. But, I am getting ahead of myself. There are also other factors that contribute toward the bird appearing lanky, but not for now. NB.