bird in my yard...what kind?

Elaine

I am not a bird photographer and my longest lens length is 210, so this is not meant to show off a great bird pic...I'm just wondering if someone can tell me what kind of bird this is? It sat on my fence for a long time this morning, and we've been seeing a couple of them flying around. I'm guessing it's some sort of hawk??

Maestro

From the tail markings and the size, you might have yourself a male merlin which is actually a type of falcon. I'm not sure though because I don't know where you live. I'll see what others have to say.

Edit: Noticed your location is Oregon. As long as you're not on the coast, the merlin ID would fit, but again, I am not 100% so I will see if others chime in. In the meantime, google Merlin Falcon and see if the pics look like your bird.

Elaine

Thanks for the info! I'll look it up!

Here's another shot showing some markings on the underside (as well as showing what exactly he thought of our yard!)

Shasoc

Or it could be a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

traunerk

Looks like a sharp-shinned to me...
i'm no expert, but seeing a sharpie so close is pretty cool...

Regards...Keith

kdog

I agree that it's a Sharp Shinned hawk. Is there a bird feeder nearby? They love to hang around bird feeders and pick off the occassional small bird. Nice captures, they're a beautiful bird.

Cheers
-joel

dbaker1221

good captures

Maestro

Yep, I am going back on my original guess. The others are correct. It's a juvenile sharp-shinned or juvenile Cooper's. The only difference being the broadness of the brown streaking on the chest at this time of development. If it has really skinny legs, it's definitely a Sharp-shinned. The Cooper's have sturdier legs and are a tad bigger.

Elaine

Thanks, everyone! I'm going to keep a watch out for these now!