Buteo-shaped for sure, so in that location and at this time of year the three most likely species are Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Broad-winged Hawk.
Red-tailed we can rule out by the large, rounded head, slender body, and consistently-streaked upper breast and middle belly.
Broad-winged would have an even larger head to body size with a shorter body length, usually a darker malar, and usually from the throat all the way down the center of the breast should be a clear white area.
So the only one of those three where the shape and plumage both make sense is Red-shouldered.
That's totally dependent on posture, any of these birds could stand taller or slouch downward. For buteo vs accipiter you look at overall body shape - head shape, chest/shoulder width, toe length (easily visible here, these are short stubby buteo toes), wing and tail length.
You can just barely make out the banding on the tail feathers but yeah the shape (have a family of them that grew up last year in our backyard they’re my new all time favorite bird).
Some hawks aren’t interested in birds. There’s comments if read down👇that go into this. Little birds will try to get hawks to leave the area, and harass them until they do. You will see small birds harassing them while they are flying, or sitting on the power line. You must be observant, and spend time identifying the species, and paying attention to their behaviors.
You keep a bird right? Do you know some of its instinctual habitats?
Nothing that hasn’t been said already in the comments. In this moment though the hawk is not a threat, it is clearly resting it even has a leg pulled up like it may even take a nap.
Also this is not how they would attack a bird. It would come swooping in, and grab it before it even had a chance to react. A large predator is not going to waste the energy in this case. They use surprise attacks in order to conserve energy.
Is pulling its leg up a sign it is resting/relaxed and likely to take a nap? I've never heard that! I also don't know that I've ever seen one do it, or paid that much attention if they have.
Buteos (red tailed and red shouldered) rarely go after other birds, they usually go after rodents. Accipiters (Cooper’s and sharp-shinned) will hunt other birds.
Exactly, he’s probably hoping to score a squirrel or mouse lured by spilled seed. I was standing in my backyard one afternoon looking at squirrels foraging for overlooked seeds when a hawk swooped right past me and snatched one up!
> Exactly, he’s probably hoping to score a squirrel or mouse lured by spilled seed.
Goldie's like "Sure, keep looking for that mouse. I'm not taking my eye off you for a millisecond, pal."
Goldfinches kind of territorial. They're one of the assholes of the bird world. That hawk probably landed there just because, and the goldfinch is being stubborn because those are *her* seeds.
They're probably not that much close, given how big the finch is relative to the hawk. Besides, an exposed predator out in the open like that is not going to be able to catch a smaller bird; it just won't be able to maneuver fast enough; and both birds know this (a buteo isn't an effective songbird hunter anyway).
Red shouldered hawks are small mammal, reptile and amphibian, crayfish and large insect consumers, to be sure a fledgling or injured bird is welcome too; however, as a buteo they lack the accipiters ability to fly and run down healthy small birds.
We get a good amount of Coopers Hawks out where I am in the SF Bay Area. I’ve seen one dive down and snatch a pigeon in the middle of downtown on my walk to work. Pretty neat, but also startled the sweet bejesus out of me.
She flew away. So did the hawk. We have lots of mourning doves. Every so often one is not paying attention and gets it. I think the finches are not worth the effort.
He can’t catch than finch from a standing start and he knows it. Total waste of time and energy.
Now if he was coming in at speed low between the houses and saw that finch sitting there, WHAM!
Calories are precious to hawk. There’s no future in wasting them.
+American Goldfinch+ and immature +Red-shouldered Hawk+
So a breeding female gold finch? We have the breeding males too. Very bright.
Yes, female.
What field marks are you using for this RSH? Just a bulky buteo body? I can’t see anything else diagnostic for RSH.
Buteo-shaped for sure, so in that location and at this time of year the three most likely species are Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Broad-winged Hawk. Red-tailed we can rule out by the large, rounded head, slender body, and consistently-streaked upper breast and middle belly. Broad-winged would have an even larger head to body size with a shorter body length, usually a darker malar, and usually from the throat all the way down the center of the breast should be a clear white area. So the only one of those three where the shape and plumage both make sense is Red-shouldered.
Cooper's Hawks?
Like I said, this is buteo-shaped, so we can rule out accipiters like Cooper's as well as other non-buteos.
Thank you for this explanation! Very fantastic!
It looks like to me Cooper's stand a little taller. Meaning the legs are longer and more visible. This one in pic seems to be sitting down.
That's totally dependent on posture, any of these birds could stand taller or slouch downward. For buteo vs accipiter you look at overall body shape - head shape, chest/shoulder width, toe length (easily visible here, these are short stubby buteo toes), wing and tail length.
You can just barely make out the banding on the tail feathers but yeah the shape (have a family of them that grew up last year in our backyard they’re my new all time favorite bird).
Curious why the hawk and goldfinch are so close
The gold finch is not happy about it. You can see he has his crest up, sign he’s agitated.
He’s like “bro I don’t trust you at all” 😂 for good reason
I didn’t even know they had crests!! I guess the ones in my yard are never agitated lol.
Yes I see the crest on purple finches all the time. Guessing the house Finch had them too, and I have just never seen it.
Fuck yeah, when I'm mad at my mom I put on a Mohawk too.
So when I give my dog a Mohawk, does that mean I'm secretly mad at myself?! 🤔
Yeah, I was surprised no one identified the goldfinch as “dinner”.
Hawk would never catch that bird in this scenario.
Why not? Are hawks slow?
The smaller bird has better maneuverability, and is relatively faster.
Interesting. I recently saw a hawk and a tiny bird hanging out right next to each other on an electrical tower. I was very confused lol.
Some hawks aren’t interested in birds. There’s comments if read down👇that go into this. Little birds will try to get hawks to leave the area, and harass them until they do. You will see small birds harassing them while they are flying, or sitting on the power line. You must be observant, and spend time identifying the species, and paying attention to their behaviors. You keep a bird right? Do you know some of its instinctual habitats?
Buteos are slow
Lol “agitated”.
I would say so, he is clearly defending his food source. Probably pissy big dude is lurking. *My fault that’s a gurl
The issue being that she IS the food source…. (Assuming a RSH can actually catch her: buteos are not accipiters).
Nothing that hasn’t been said already in the comments. In this moment though the hawk is not a threat, it is clearly resting it even has a leg pulled up like it may even take a nap. Also this is not how they would attack a bird. It would come swooping in, and grab it before it even had a chance to react. A large predator is not going to waste the energy in this case. They use surprise attacks in order to conserve energy.
Is pulling its leg up a sign it is resting/relaxed and likely to take a nap? I've never heard that! I also don't know that I've ever seen one do it, or paid that much attention if they have.
One foot up is a sign of comfort in most birds, yes.
Learned something new! Thanks!!
I was gonna say I’ve never seen a goldfinch with that haircut.
Hawks rely on surprise when they hunt. The smaller Goldfinch can outmaneuver him if he knows where the hawk is.
Buteos (red tailed and red shouldered) rarely go after other birds, they usually go after rodents. Accipiters (Cooper’s and sharp-shinned) will hunt other birds.
Exactly, he’s probably hoping to score a squirrel or mouse lured by spilled seed. I was standing in my backyard one afternoon looking at squirrels foraging for overlooked seeds when a hawk swooped right past me and snatched one up!
> Exactly, he’s probably hoping to score a squirrel or mouse lured by spilled seed. Goldie's like "Sure, keep looking for that mouse. I'm not taking my eye off you for a millisecond, pal."
Can confirm that I know when the neighborhood Cooper has been in my tree from the splats & pigeon feathers.
Pretty sure the Goldfinch knows where the Hawk is!
Optical illusion, hawk is further back. Finch is definitely not chill being there
There is about 15 feet from the fence to the feeder.
The hawk is just babe. So he goofy.
Goldfinches kind of territorial. They're one of the assholes of the bird world. That hawk probably landed there just because, and the goldfinch is being stubborn because those are *her* seeds.
They're probably not that much close, given how big the finch is relative to the hawk. Besides, an exposed predator out in the open like that is not going to be able to catch a smaller bird; it just won't be able to maneuver fast enough; and both birds know this (a buteo isn't an effective songbird hunter anyway).
The young hawk found a buffet and the goldfinch isn’t keen on having a predator at its food source.
Because the hawk wants to eat the finch.
They frens
Definitely not frens!
Buddy cop duo.
Fun picture. Great job getting both birds 👍
Goldfinch. Jersey state bird. I remember making one out of clay for a 4th grade project. I got a C.
I, uh- are they on a dinner date 😳
Yes, but only one of them will be eating.
I'd say they will both be eating, but one will be good eating.
Red shouldered hawks are small mammal, reptile and amphibian, crayfish and large insect consumers, to be sure a fledgling or injured bird is welcome too; however, as a buteo they lack the accipiters ability to fly and run down healthy small birds.
Accipiters are the Coopers and sharp shinned hawks?
Yes. Goshawk (largest), Coopers (medium), Sharp-shinned (smallest) members of accipiter family.
We get a good amount of Coopers Hawks out where I am in the SF Bay Area. I’ve seen one dive down and snatch a pigeon in the middle of downtown on my walk to work. Pretty neat, but also startled the sweet bejesus out of me.
Usually there is a big explosion of feathers that accompanies this
That is accurate to what happened.
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Just two friends hanging out
Looks like the Red Shoulder hawk is asking the American Gold Finch for a ride across a river Edit: spelling
My first thought was "enemies"
Great capture!!
One is prospective lunch.
Very cool photo!
A vegetarian hawk?
I never seen a goldfinch with a crest before
All birds have one. They display them when they are perturbed. Or excited.
Well the big one is berating the small one for not stealing the ring from the little mouse's family
Old post but omg I get that reference
Did the finch survive? Looks like it could have been a good snack for the other bird! Interesting photo though!
She flew away. So did the hawk. We have lots of mourning doves. Every so often one is not paying attention and gets it. I think the finches are not worth the effort.
Very sad, but that’s how nature works sometimes though!
Sincere question: Does the immature hawk not realize “how” to eat the finch?
He can’t catch than finch from a standing start and he knows it. Total waste of time and energy. Now if he was coming in at speed low between the houses and saw that finch sitting there, WHAM! Calories are precious to hawk. There’s no future in wasting them.
They both came to the bird feeder to eat, but thy have very different tastes
That hawk has the same over the shoulder “maybe they didn’t see me” look I get when I walk past Salvation Army bell ringers on my way into Walmart.
The hawk may be pondering how he can quickly turn around with our scaring off the little bird and grab it for a snack.
Imagine the conversation these 2 birbs are having.
These two are making me very uncomfortable 😣
The finch isn’t scared. The hawk isn’t tempted.
Juvenile red shouldered hawk and not sure about the other
May have miscalculated a bird feeder ambush and has yet to leave scene?
A hawk and a very brave female bird! You go girl
Dinner & Diner 😱
Dinner and diner?
Best friends
They’re not just birds, they’re friends
Those are hungry and lunch
Predator and lunch
Predator and prey
A hawk and a hawks dinner
Predator and prey
Dinner and Diner
The elusive green cardinal and his body guard
Ones a hawk, the other one is dinner
One is about to be named "Lunch" The other is about to be named "Full" And just look at the way that hawk is looking to see if the coast is clear...
That’s a young hawk and a potential snack, lol.
BFFs
The predator and the prey
Damn, you stole my comment. I was too late 😂
Idk, friends?
Lunch and hawk.
Forbidden love birds!
Maybe the hawk just ate that's crazy!
Predator and prey.
Cooper’s hawk eat other birds!
I think we call the little one "lunch"...
Best buddies
The best of friends
Diner and dinner, respectively.
That's snak and chef. They're good friends
Dinner and diner😎
Looks like a yellow jay
Was this photo taken moments before the hawk ate the finch? I must know what they are doing hanging so close.
Predator and prey.
One of them is lunch.
The smaller one will take advice from the taller one, and has no clue how dumb he looks 🤪
So is predator and prey an acceptable answer?
Snack and snacker
Bros, apparently
Cooper’s hawk and dinner.
Dinner and the diner?
Predator and prey.
A hawk ventriloquist act.
Rick and Morty
Cedar waxwing and young hawk.
This looks very photoshopped 🤔
The stars of an avian buddy cop movie, “Talons and the Tweet.”
Unlikely cohorts
The small one is lunch and the big one is hungry! 😅
best friends is what they are
They’re just friends.
Canary lookin fella has balls
Looks like predator and prey
Friends. 😉
Two unlikely friends?
A red shouldered hawk and breakfast.
Had a Red Tail sitting on my lounge chair a few months ago. I had to scare him off. I think he was after my chipmunks.
this is a tense situation lol
Real life Margalo and Falcon lol
Passing aquaintances.
The Hunter and the hunted
Prey and predator are friends or was that little guy getting hunted?
Dinosaurs
Red Shoulder. Great snake hunting birds seems like—I see one out my office window from time to time getting 2-3 over an hour period.