Nancy,

There's a guy in Sweden who knows a ridiculous amount about the
vagaries of the Sharpie/Coopers conundrum.

May I forward your photos to him for an opinion?

Robert Pisano



On Mar 4, 2008, at 6:37 PM, Stewart Wechsler wrote:

> Concerning Nancy's Accipiter I.D. question for this photo:
>
> http://www.nancywagnerphotography.com/id.html
>
> Though I would lean towards calling the Accipiter in the photo a
> Sharpie
> because of the apparent notch in the middle of the end of the tail and
> because the bird looks a bit slimmer than I think of a Coopers being,
> I have
> little confidence without getting something that indicates size or
> seeing
> the bird in flight from above or below. If the end of the tail is
> somewhat
> rounded in flight and is the size of a crow or close to that size I
> would
> call it a Coopers. If the tail squared to notched at the end and
> apparently
> smaller than a crow, I would call it a Sharpie. I don't know how
> reliable
> the tail shape alone is while perched. I presume that the tail
> feathers
> could be spread while perching to give it the appearance of being
> notched
> without showing a notch from above or below in flight. Though I
> presume
> that there are other subtle distinctions, these are the only ones I
> currently use to distinguish these species.
>
> -Stewart
>
> Stewart Wechsler
> Ecological Consulting
> West Seattle
> 206 932-7225
> ecostewart at quidnunc.net
>
> -Advice on the most site-appropriate native plants
> and how to enhance habitat for the maximum diversity
> of plants and animals
> -Educational programs, nature walks and field trips
> -Botanical Surveys
>
>
> -----Original Message--
> Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 4:04 PM
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: [Tweeters] Debate continues on sharpie vs cooper with 1 more
> photo
>
>
> Here's one more photo of a new angle of the possible sharpie or
> cooper's
> (second link). What I wouldn't have given to have it turn
> around...instead,
> the one behavior I did see was that it flew down to the ground, and I
> couldn't see it anymore, even after going over to look.
>
> http://www.nancywagnerphotography.com/id.html
>
> http://www.nancywagnerphotography.com/id2.html
>
> Hope this helps id it and thanks again!
>
> Nancy Wagner
> Bothell, WA
> Nancy at nancywagnerphotography.com
>
>
>
>
>
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