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Birders

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mnhtnbb

(32,134 posts)
Sat Feb 10, 2024, 08:35 AM Feb 2024

Cooper's Hawk? Or Merlin Falcon? [View all]

I managed to grab a couple of shots of this bird yesterday when I noticed it flying through my yard. It's drawn to the birds that come to my feeders. I did not get a shot of its chest, nor did I notice chest markings when it was flying from the front of the courtyard to the back fence where it perched. I thought it might be a falcon because it is much smaller than the Red Tailed hawks which I see regularly, but the closest it comes to matching is a Merlin columbarius, although this bird appears to have more white on its head than a Merlin. When I Google id the photo, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk comes up, but they aren't found in the US.

This bird has more blue/grey plumage than I thought a Cooper's Hawk would have, but also has more white on the head than I thought the Merlin Falcon would have.

Anyone have thoughts on what it is?


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