Anglican Samizdat

An unexpected visitor

This fellow perched on a branch in our back yard this evening.

We haven’t seen many mice around lately.

Stuart on September 14, 2011 at 4:18 am said:

Woah. That is jaw dropping. And what a superb image.

Forgive my ignorance, but what bird of prey are we looking at here?

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Kate on September 14, 2011 at 7:04 am said:

I think it is a Peregrine Falcon.

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David on September 14, 2011 at 8:55 am said:

A friend who knows a lot more about birds than me sent me this in an email:

I am pretty sure your visiting friend in your backyard is an Accipiter Striatus: The Sharp Shinned Hawk. It looks similar to the Coopers Hawk, however the Coopers is slightly bigger.

I would have to see the tail but I believe it would have had black bars over white: When it flies it it takes several beats and a glide. It has a rusty chest, barred breast. It is probably an adult bird. It is not a Peregrine because the Peregrine has a mark on its cheek that look like a sideburn.

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Stuart on September 14, 2011 at 9:11 am said:

Thanks David, updated the blog post to say that we think it is an Accipiter Striatus: The Sharp Shinned Hawk.

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Kate on September 14, 2011 at 12:53 pm said:

That makes sense. It would be the songbirds that would be cowering, though David. I love watching hawks fly.

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