Five On The Wing – #18
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Another of my five birds in flight series, all taken in recent weeks over our property.
This one has the added bonus theme of all being hawks! 😃
The first two are either a Cooper’s Hawk and/or a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Both of these hawks are so close in looks that I cannot feel 100% sure which either one is, I did give my thoughts on each shot.
If anyone feels confident on identifying either, I’d very much appreciate it!
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Sharp-shinned Hawk
(I’m leaning more to Sharp-shinned Hawk…small head even with wings, square tail, little legs/feet)
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Cooper’s Hawk
(I lean more to Cooper’s Hawk on this one…big legs/feet, big head out forward, white-tipped tail)
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Broad-winged Hawk
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Red-shouldered Hawk
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Photos by Donna 
Nice series of hawk images Donna! Enjoyed seeing them!
Thank you, Reed!
👌👌👌📷🌹😉
Thank you, Mic!
Beautiful clear shots Donna showing their beautiful markings, raptors are so glorious to behold
Thank you, Ashley! They certainly are!
I am by no means a birder, but based on my “Nat Geo Field Guide to the Birds of N. America” I would agree with you on Sharp-shinned for the first photo and Cooper’s for the secon.
Thank you kindly, David, for your input! I appreciate you taking the time to look them up in your guide. I don’t have that one!
Wow, these are beautiful photos Donna! How cool to have these birds flying over your property!
Thank you, Lisa, it’s surely a delight to have raptors soaring overhead!
Wonderful captures, Donna – pretty exciting to have sighted these on your property!
Thank you, Eliza! I see the Red-tails often but the others are an added delight!
Fantastic photos! These are such impressive birds. I have yet to capture a hawk in flight.
Thank you, Simon! I get real excited if they’re soaring and not booking across the sky, they’re easier targets! 😉
Love the patterns you can see on them when they fly above. They would make a nice collage, don’t you think?
I love seeing their patterns too, especially when they light up with the sun. Yes, it would! 🙂
All beautiful (no matter their ID 😏)!
Thank you, Belinda! 😊
Stunning shots. Eric is pretty sure we have a Cooper’s here (who has been dining at our bird feeder… and I’m NOT referring to the seeds we put out for the birds!) 🥴
Thank you, Gunta! Can Eric help ID either one of my two? The Cooper’s and Sharpies aren’t so easy for me, lol.
I’ll check with him when we get back! 🤗
So…. he starts going on this rant about how one of the males is smaller than the female and droned on for awhile and then there are regional variations and on and on…. and I’m sorry, but I looked at the picture and they all looked pretty much the same to me. I’m guessing we’re not much help. 😏
No problem, Gunta, thanks for trying! Bird IDing makes my brain dizzy lots of times!! 😁
Birds and plants and fungus (fungi??) and on and on…. I just gave up when my brain started spinning and I said ‘enough’! 🤪
Amazing photos! And a gorgeous sky backdrop, too. Pretty sure I’ve seen a Cooper’s hawk on my fence before. Impressive birds!
Thank you very much! Wish these had landed so I could have gotten a better view of them, instead of high-tailing it fast across the sky!
I know what you mean. Tricky to photograph!
Love those wings…excellent clarity, Donna!
Thank you, Indira!
Brilliant capture.
Thank you!
Wow, they are so similar. The sunshine really brings out the feather details. Great pics. 😊
Thank you, Irene, those two confuse me every time I photograph one of them. Like many other similars lol, makes the brain go dizzy! 😊
My kind of post 👏👏👏. Nice idea how you used your thoughts and reasoning for making the ID. I like that a lot.
Thank you, Ted! These shots are good for the neck, not! 😅 But I’ll take them any day. The one I think is a Sharpie, looks also to be a juvenile. Juveniles throw a curve in my ID brain!
I agree with you, it’s a Sharp-shinned. Gorgeous captures, Donna!
Thank you, Lisa! Appreciate the ID help. Do you think the other one is a Cooper’s?
Yep, I think the other one is a Cooper’s. 🙂
Thank you for helping Lisa!
Lovely captures!
Thank you!
Great photos. Clear blue sky to take a flight. How do you determine their names?
Thank you! I’ve been learning bird IDs for ten years now, so its gotten easier to ID. But I’m still learning too!
Beautiful shots, especially the last one of the Red-tailed Hawk. I love the sunlight on his wings and how well you can see its face. (Sorry I can’t help with the identification of the first ones!)
Thank you, Barbara! I love when raptors fly towards the sun and can I can get a shot with their wings lit up! 🤗😊
That backlit Red-tailed capture is breathtaking!
Thank you, Martha!
They’re all gorgeous, Donna! These are wonderful in-flight images.
Thank you, Deborah!