Tag Archives: coopers hawk nc

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

Coopers Hawk vs, Sharp Shinned Hawk ID

By Sally Siko

Pleased to spot both Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks while birding in the Raleigh NC area last month!

Coopers Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk



Whenever I happen to photograph either species I’m faced with the conundrum of figuring out which bird is in my viewfinder.
Because of the similarities in plumage between the two, there’s no single characteristic that can easily be used to distinguish between them.
Instead I do my best to consider several features, including relative size, head shape, neck feathers and tail feathers. 

One of the first things to note when trying to tell whether a particular bird is a Cooper’s hawk or a sharp-shinned hawk is the size. Cooper’s hawks are about 6 inches bigger than sharp-shinned hawks.
A good rule of thumb is that Cooper’s hawks are similar in size to a crow, while sharp-shinned hawks are closer in size to a blue jay.
Head size can also be a telling feature of these birds as well.
The Cooper’s hawk has a more prominent head that is block-like and dome-shaped, while a sharp-shinned hawk has a smaller, more rounded head.
Still, unless you have a banana handy (for scaling purposes lol) the overall size of the bird at hand is not a great way to tell the two birds apart.

Neck feathers are another useful ID feature, although it is not always easy to get a look at the nape of a bird’s neck while out in the field.
If you can, though, check the coloring.
A sharp-shinned hawk will have the same dark grayish-blue feathers on both its head and neck, while a Cooper’s hawk’s neck feathers are lighter in color than its head feathers.

Of all the differentiators, my best advice is to check out the bird’s tail. The tail of a Cooper’s hawk is typically rounded, while a sharp-shinned hawk has tail feathers with a straight or flat edge to it.
Lastly though, when in doubt it’s great to ask our fellow big brain birders out there for their thoughts.
There is always value at asking for another perspective on a bird ID.
That’s when the opportunity to learn something new from someone else can add to our own enjoyment in the field going forward.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Coopers Hawk encounter at Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh, NC

By Sally Siko

While birding this morning along Mid Pines Road near Raleigh North Carolina, my friend Corie and I spied a Coopers Hawk perched on a branch at the edge of the woods.
The bird stayed put for several minutes and then it dropped down and glided silently to land in the trees on the other side of the road.
It’s not often that I’ve been able to get a close up look at one of these beauties so it was a lot of fun getting these shots.


Coopers Hawks are a year round resident of North Carolina and are found mix of forests or woodlots bisected with fields and open areas containing thickets and brush piles. Happily they seem to prefer to perch on the limbs of dead tree branches in fields or on fenceposts which makes them a little easier to find and photograph.

Interestingly Coopers tend to be more tolerant of people than other raptor species so it’s not unusual to see them in urban areas too.
In fact I think I’ve seen more Coopers Hawks flying through the crowded suburbs of North Carolinas neighborhoods this year more than I can remember.


We spent about 10 minutes watching the Coopers as it was totally relaxed and calmly preened on its perch.
This particular hawk is missing one eye but didn’t seem to be showing any signs of discomfort. I’m not sure how it lost that one eye, yet the bird appeared well fed so I suppose it hasn’t impacted it negatively when it comes to hunting for a meal.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Out There with the Expert

A Coopers Hawk encounter at Ft.Fisher, NC

By Sally Siko

Last month, I made a quick trip down to Ft.Fisher NC in search of a Grey Kingbird. I got lucky and found the Kingbird early and since the weather was so beautiful, decided to stick around and continue birding in the area.
While walking on the Rocks area at Federal Point, I spied a Coopers Hawk soaring overhead.
I watched it for a minute and then it dropped down to land on some brush just a few feet away from where I was standing!
It’s not often that I’ve been able to get a close up look at one of these beauties so it was a lot of fun getting these shots.



Coopers Hawks are a year round resident of North Carolina and are found mix of forests or woodlots bisected with fields and open areas containing thickets and brush piles. Happily they seem to prefer to perch on the limbs of dead tree branches in fields or on fenceposts which makes them a little easier to find and photograph.

Interestingly Coopers tend to be more tolerant of people than other raptor species so it’s not unusual to see them in urban areas too.
In fact I think I’ve seen more Coopers Hawks flying through the crowded suburbs of North Carolina’s barrier islands (Wrightsville Beach, Topsail Island, Nags Head & Cape Hattaress) than anywhere out in nature.
Crazy huh?



I spent about 10 minutes watching this Coopers as it was totally preoccupied with something unseen scurrying in the leaf litter below.
The bird was remarkably calm as it sat there in the sun, ever so often glancing down to fix it gaze on the prey hidden somewhere in the bush.
Then all of a sudden, the hawk fluttered down into the tangled brush and disappeared into the undergrowth.
I heard the bird stomping around down there but couldn’t see it or what she was after.
Unfortunately I’ll never know if the Coopers hunt was successful because it did not pop up out of the brush again, at
least not that I saw anyway.
Perhaps it walked out on the other side of the bush and flew off at a low angle into the fields.
Got to respect the sneak game a large bird 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds