Goshawks unreported

 This article is on how to identify accipiters. Which is the same construct as how to identify raptors. Goshawks are being well- under reported. Why? But birders, even advanced birders, do not understand the Cooper’s Hawk. If birders understood the Cooper’s Hawk, then depending on their skill level, when they observe an accipiter in flight, within seconds, they could call out “ That is not a Cooper’s Hawk”.

Let’s say you are walking a field alongside of a wood lot or a forest. And forty feet away. I realize that as a birder you would want to be walking right-up against the tree line. You notice behind your position toward the right a raptor is heading your way. The hawk is following the tree line. Your initial impression is that the hawk is an accipiter. As the hawk draws nearer you are more certain the hawk is accipiter. You feel the hawk is accipiter because of the wing beats and the low altitude of the hawk and its proximity to the trees. As the hawk draws closer you try and zero in on the head. As the hawk draws broadside, you notice the tail length. It is accipiter long. Then you observe the tail tip and the terminal band. Is the band white, or off- white. Is the band thick or thin. What of the tail tip. Is it rounded or square. Or club shaped. You observe the chest and belly for color and pattern. The head is examined for size and shape as the hawk is now past your broadside. You try and determine if the head protrudes past the wrists of the wings, in active flight. As the hawk is well- past broadside you can pick up on the chest and belly again. But, what is missing from this little adventure? The wing beats, the wing holding, and the wing structure. Most North American raptors in the East and on Puget Sound can be identified by their wing beats, wing shape and proportions, and their wing holding. I will say it again, most birders do not understand the Cooper’s Hawk in flight.

Now, let’s go over the adventure again to understand why it might be difficult to get a feel for the wings of the hawk. If it is Fall, the back ground of the scene could be made of many colors, red, brown, pink, orange, gold, tan, light green with sections of darkness. All of this adds toward a back ground of texture, therefore the wings of the hawk blend in with the texture. What about a green forest? The color green, probably more than any other color can have more values and the various values have various intensities. All this leads to a back ground of textures. So, the best way to observe raptors in flight as a student is to observe the raptor near your zenith. And the hawk should be close, for if close the hawk can be observed naked eye. Sky should be the back ground. The sky is either blue or grey. Or blue with white, or red, or orange. Now the back ground will have no texture. And this is what you might see if you are observing a Cooper’s Hawk.

Some people will say that the Cooper’s Hawk (COHA) has great control over its wings. I say the bird has the appearance of being spastic. COHA is a high- strung species. It cannot make up its mind on which path to take. The hawk might juke to the left just a few degrees, then correct its position, all within a second. The hawk might tilt and correct within a second or two. The hawk might yaw for just a second or two. At times when gaining some altitude the hawk will jump upward into the air, or appear to be jumping up steps. One wing might be higher than the other. As the hawk, tilts to turn and dive, one wing might appear to have its wing tip squared. At other times one wing shape will vary from the other wing. Sometimes the hawk will glide with its wings bowed downward. And with the primary feathers separated. You might observe the tail trembling perched and in flight. You might observe the hawk trembling in flight. I think this is the result of the hawk being high - strung. I have read that this species will kill, just for the fun of it.  All of this information I have observed from field work. In other words, not from some video, or from observing some falconer’s bird. 

I will also go out on a limb, and say that you will probably never observe a COHA in the sky during non- migration time. This species does not have an affinity for the sky. Sky is an area which is above the “air”. Sky starts at about 150 feet of altitude. Therefore, you will not observe a COHA linger, or slow down , or speed up from a slow speed, I call it skoot. The hawk will not drift, to any degree. The hawk will not circle, over and over again. In other words, the hawk will not put on a show or a performance. This creature is all business- like. 

The structure of the COHA wing: As a student of hawk watching it is certainly best to observe the hawk with the sky as a background. Even if the hawk is a silhouette, it does not matter! You are now paying attention to wing movement, wing holding, and wing shape, and possibly wing length, or relative wing length. To me the leading and the trailing edge of the wing is slightly fuzzy. It is not clean- cut. Why this is, I don’t know. Possible the the edges of the wing are slightly rounded or tucked under. I have not examined any video of this hawk in flight. The wing tip is not sharply defined. There is no large arm- small hand appearance. The leading edge of the wing might appear straight- across, with no bump at the wrist. But, some NG might show this straight edge, with no bump. The COHA might glide with wings bowed downward. Might it be possible the  wing is also bowed from leading edge to trailing edge? If so this would account for the trailing edge and the leading edge to be somewhat less sharp - looking, clean - cut.

So, there you have it . My impression of a COHA. And why birders do not fully understand or appreciate COHA in flight. Also, this species can use various tricks in order to garner prey. I call this species “Sneaky”. If you know the COHA in flight, then you will automatically know that when you observe a Sharpie or NG, that that hawk is not a Cooper’s.