Reference to: http://www.pbase.com/ferensen/inbox

Hawk results: even split between Cooper's and Sharp-shinned. Some comments
follow:

Mike Patterson: It's an adult accipiter. The two outer most tail feathers
are growing in and it's missing some primaries. This virtually guarantees
that no matter which one I pick there will be people who will disagree....
However, the smallish bill, the definite forehead, the dark nape, the
shortish tail, the lack of a barreled chest all strongly suggest
Sharp-shinned Hawk...probably a female.

I agree with Mike, though I am new to birding, I was very fortunate to watch
a family of Sharp Shinned Hawks for a few years raise lots of young. I also
had Coopers Hawks in the area, especially flying by and snagging pigeons. So
I got a good look at the difference. And we have both come to prey on our
feeders in our yard.

My vote is for an immature Cooper's. It looks like it has a fairly definite
cap and the general look of a Coop.

My guess is an adult male Cooper's hawk. The black cap on the bird (2nd
picture) is very telling of a Cooper's plus the round look of the body in
the first picture. It can be really hard to tell between a female sharpie
and a male coops though!

It looks to me like a Cooper's Hawk. It appears to have a dark cap and then
lighter down the back, whereas a Sharpie would be solid dark. Cooper-cap,
Sharpie-solid, as Bud Anderson says! I'll be interested in hearing what
others say.

(Apologies for the photo quality. This one got away fast before I could
close in and work on the light.)

Bill Ferensen
Seattle, WA
ferensen at hotmail.com