What kind of bird is this?

[Swimmer]

This morning, after many days of my wife seeing this bird when I wasn't around, it perched on my deck railing. It was around for about a half hour, that I knew of. It sat on the peak of the house, in trees ajacent to my house and deck, and on the ground. It has a grey back with interspersed white feathers. It chest is tan with interspersed medium brown feathers. Also it mate was with it and probably has been everytime my wife saw it, but didn't notice the other of the two. Both are quite large. I snapped some pictures of probably the male just after the female took off from inside the garden fence. The male is sitting on the fence post as you can see, and if you enlarge the picture it becomes quite easily seen, so I am hoping someone here knows what it is.

[Swimmer]

Here are the bird pics. Guess not

[Swimmer]

Try this post

[Rappin Mikey]

Coopers Hawk??

[Raven]

well if those are 4x4 posts that its sitting on
the real measurement is 3.5 inches
and you could stack 3 of those on edge beside it
making it around 10-11 inches tall...
not counting the tail feather length....

as noted by a guy who attached a ruler to his fence
for a more accurate measurement ... he said

when the hawk is standing up straight, the top of its head appears to be at the 1 1/2" mark. That makes this hawk about 9 1/2" tall. Using a photo of a Cooper's Hawk on AllAboutBirds, a Cooper's standing height is about 60% of its length (tip of bill to tip of tail), so the length of this hawk is about 9.5/0.6 = 15.8". Sibley lists the length of a Cooper's as 16" and the length of a Sharp-shinned as 11", so this definitely is a Cooper's Hawk.

[spence]

Here's a juvi perched on my neighbor's house the other day...

-spence

[ThrowingTimber]

It's a henweigh.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Redsoxticket]

The juvi has some long claws
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[JohnR]

A small one photo'd at a distance

[Swimmer]

Yup, thats what they are. Must have a mating pair. Wife saw one last year, and now both are showing themselves without much reservation. Tomorrowmorning I am going to have camera ready for a better shot. Thank you everyone.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Sharp shinned hawk

[Swimmer]

There are three of them flying around the yard this morning whizzing through the tree branches and around the tree itself. Thats what they have fun doing.
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[beamie]

They must like something in your yard Swimmer. You have chickens? or allot of field mice or something?

[PRBuzz]

Coopers and Sharp shinned both prey on small birds, you have bird feeders? I do and enjoy watching the hawks nail some of the sparrows!

[Swimmer]

Buzz, I was just watching the younger hawk swoop down on the squirrels eating the hickory nuts on the ground. I was hoping it sould fly off with a squirrel or two. I have a dozen shagbark hickory trees in the yard, which provide an enormous amount of food, and a bigger mess to clean up.
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[Rappin Mikey]

Usually, they will eat there prey on the ground where they make the kill. They love pigeons and squirrels. Usually will leave only a small pile of fur or feathers and maybe a small bone or two.

[Swimmer]

Originally Posted by Rappin Mikey

Usually, they will eat there prey on the ground where they make the kill. They love pigeons and squirrels. Usually will leave only a small pile of fur or feathers and maybe a small bone or two.

Maybe this family of hawks could be trained to eat seals.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Liv2Fish]

Saw one of these snatch a squirrel off of my mothers deck bird feeder when I was a kid. Just happened to be looking out the slider watching the squirrel eat bird food as fast as it could. In a split second, it started to freak out, twitched left, then right and then, wham! off he went in the talons a huge hawk! It was amazing how fast it happened and the force the bird put on the squirrel.

[Hookedagain]

Its not a Coopers or a sharp shin but it was on the top of the pole behind my house. Its a Red Shoulder, he was one pole away from a Red Tail. The Red Tail was much larger. Had enough time to get the camera out and shoot these....Red Tail was gone when I got back. They are back there almost daily looking for something to eat.

Took the boy up to Maine fishing last week and while wading out in a small stream an Eagle landed in a pine tree not far from us. Got some photos of him too.