what hawk is this?

[ravynne40]

at first i thought coopers or sharp shinned, then i looked at the front-now i'm just more confused! at the park we thought it was a red tailed??
can anyone please help me id this beautiful hawk?
much appreciated
Irene
(who is thinking warblers are easy at the moment LOL)

[Al Johnston]

I'd say red-tailed which would be almost twice the size of a sharp-shinned. Nice photos BTW.

[ravynne40]

even with the bands on the tail? the last red tail i saw didn't have bands on his tail they were solid..is there a difference with coloring between female and male hawks?
and thank you, the hawk made it easy to take the pics (zoom lense helps too)

[TomTelford]

Probably a first year.  The tail doesn't go red until second year.  Belly band is virtually conclusive.

Tom.

[ravynne40]

Thanks Al and Tom
he was pretty bold too, he flew to catch a mouse that was almost 4 feet away from me, my heart literally jumped into my throat and i couldn't even take a picture till after he landed
here i thought i was a good distance too! never thought about what would happen if he flew into my direction.