Backyard and Beyond

Incoming! I was watching a Merlin from some distance and saw it fly off. Merlins may perch hunt, returning to the same perch after a foray. So when this raptor came back to the tree, I assumed it would be the Merlin again. The photos, of course, tell a different story.

A mature Accipiter. Reddish eyes, reddish or russet horizontal striping. Small, so either a male Cooper’s or a female Sharp-shinned. (The Merlin and the Accipiter weren’t in the tree at the same time, unfortunately, for a nice size comparison.) The head seems smallish in comparison to the bulk of a Cooper’s head though. The round (Cooper’s) versus straight (Sharpie) tail distinction is unclear to me. It’s a hard call, but I think Sharpie.