> From: "Kelly McAllister" <mcallisters4 at comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] peregrine (?) near REI central Sunday
>
> As soon as you mentioned the bird flying into a tree, I thought it sounded
> like an accipiter. Based on description of size, sounds like a Cooper's
> Hawk. The physical description, to me, fits Cooper's Hawk quite well.
>
> Kelly McAllister
> Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
> Olympia, Washington
> Reply to: mcallisters4 at comcast.net
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Josh Hayes" <josh at blarg.net>
> >
> > It buzzed across a parking lot and into a different tree, where I was
> able
> > to get a good look at it -- I couldn't make out any facial markings at
> > all,
> > but there was distinct horizontal fine barring across the breast,
> shading
> > from buffy near the throat to gray farther posterior. The tail was
> > distinctly horizontally barred.

[snips]

Upon reflection, and some searching of web images, I think Kelly's probably
right, although it was a VERY large Cooper's Hawk; I was more familiar with
CH's with this sort of chest marking:

http://www.christinevadai.com/COHA.jpg

But the one I saw was much more like this:

http://museum.utep.edu/chih/theland/images/cooperhawk.jpg

I really wanted to make it into a Merlin, since I still haven't seen one of
those since I moved to Washington in 1991, but clearly it wasn't. So, I
still don't know for sure, but I'm calling it a large female COHA. Thanks
for the advice, Kelly.

-Josh