bird of prey spotted inthe scarborough bluffs, help?

[deving]

Yesterday morning (December 18th) I came downstairs and I looked in my backyard and saw a big, big bird. It had dark brown wings and a light brown chest. It's chest was very broad. I snapped a few photos with my digital camera, then tried to go outside to get a better shot. When I opened the back door it flew away with something in it's claw. My neighbors feed pidqeons so I assume that's what it was. When I walked up to the place it was standing, I noticed a huge pile of feathers and blood, confirming my suspicions that it was a pigeon that was mauled.

If anyone thinks they know for sure which bird it was, please say.

Here is a picture of the bird:

http://birodfpreyidentification.blogspot.com/2009/12/picture-of-bird.html

The bird was about 1 or 2 feet tall, and the diameter of the pile it is standing on in the picture is about 3 feet.

[mr.sharp-photo]

that is one big bird!!!

and i would guess its a red-shouldered hawk, but i am far from being an expert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-shouldered_Hawk

[skyviewer]

In the pic it kind of looks like a coopers hawk.  Could the wing feathers have been a dark grey blue colour?  Check out my post in bird photos from 2 days ago.  Also look at Misty's of the Sharp shinned.  A sharp shinned is the size of a large jay whereas the coopers is the size of a crow.  They both frequent backyard feeders to prey upon birds.  Also check out this site
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm

[deving]

In the pic it kind of looks like a coopers hawk.  Could the wing feathers have been a dark grey blue colour?  Check out my post in bird photos from 2 days ago.  Also look at Misty's of the Sharp shinned.  A sharp shinned is the size of a large jay whereas the coopers is the size of a crow.  They both frequent backyard feeders to prey upon birds.  Also check out this site
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm

It is possible but I am pretty sure when I saw it fly away they were all dark brown.

[Tyler]

if those feathers are Pigeon feathers you can rule out sharp-shinned and go with Cooper's hawk. pigeons are too large for Sharpies. through maybe the largest most ambitious female sharpie may supersize her meal.

as for red-shoulders they are not bird hunters. the love their rodents, frogs and snakes. birds (dumb or sick ones) make up a very small part of their diet.

[Bluffs Birder]

Hi Deving,

Welcome to the forum!

That bird you saw and photographed is a for sure an adult Cooper's Hawk.  There are known 'Coop' nests along the Scarborough Bluffs.  There is a Cooper's Hawk nest somewhere near the Guild, one in the Bellamy Ravine, one near the Hunt Club Golf Course, and one in the Glen Stewart Ravine to name a few...not sure if you live close to any of these or not.

Coops do go in to backyards in search of food, I live a block north of Kingston Road (near Midland Ave) and I have a juvenile Coop visit the yard at least once a week.

Fellow birder BIGFRANK does a Raptor Watch in the fall at Rosetta McClain Gardens (top of the Bluffs) which I've been fortunate enough to be a part of the last 2 years and we've seen local Coops out hunting almost on a daily basis.  There must be a fairly good food supply around as most of these locals didn't migrate.

Hope this helps you out.

Walter  

[JimmyM]

? for Big Frank or anyone who is a raptor fan.
 I haven't personally seen these two events - 1. a hawk snatching a crow from a hydo wire 2. a hawk  swooping down and taking off with a fully grown rabbit .
Both happened in the southern Mississauga area .
What hawk is capable of capturing these 2 fairly large birds / animals . I was thinking northern goshawk , however, I haven't spotted any around here and haven't seen any reports of sightings.
Thanks for any ideas .
Jim

[Anonymous]

JimmyM,

Could have been anything from a red tail to a coopers to a goshawk.  Keep in mind it could have also been a great horned owl as well.  Rabbits are easily handled by any of the above.

The crow is a different issue altogether, as I've seen them attack other raptors and then see the raptor catch it, almost accidentally, while flipping upside down to defend itself.  With that being said, who knows, birds surprise us all by what they do each and every day.

Cases in point a great blue heron I saw fishing a drainage grate beside a frozen pond, and a kingfisher perched on a low bush/tree fishing a stretch of unfrozen river about 25ft long next to Pearson airport.

[JimmyM]

Attila ,
Thanks for the explanation . The crow was taken from behind so it didn't really have a chance to fight back . The books I've read, indicate only the goshawk being powerful enough to take the larger prey. As you have mentioned, birds will and do surprise us every day .
Jim

[BIGFRANK]

My own first impression was Great Horned Owl. Ive seen 3 Redtails take a large squirrel and they were unable to fly any distance with it. They had to eat it on the ground,it was too heavy for it to fly with,so its unlikely it was a Redtail that took a Rabbitt.

[Anonymous]

Most raptors, after a kill, will fly to the most available perch in order to consume their prey.  This is regardless of the size of the prey involved..

It also has to do with exactly what type of rabbit we're talking about here, whether it be a cottontail or a jack rabbit.  Depending on the time of year, we could also be talking about snow shoe hares and while flying any great distance with a kill is rare and usually the dominion of bald and/or golden eagles, it is possible for birds that come in at the 2lbs+ mark to fly away with a kill.

Case in point is a gyr falcon which feeds on hares up north.  With the goshawk having more strength than a gyr, it would be easy to see it taking on a snow shoe hare.

Attila

[Bird Brain]

2. a hawk  swooping down and taking off with a fully grown rabbit in the southern Mississauga area .

Jim

Jim ... how long ago did this happen?  Just curious to know as there's a GHO in your area at the moment!  http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Ma ... rds/627448

Jo-Anne  

[JimmyM]

Jo-Anne , Attila , Big Frank ,
Much thanks for your input - very helpful and interesting !
Both sightings were made by friends who are non birders so a GHO would probably be ID'd as a hawk . With the info provided by Jo- Anne and the crow capture happening exactly where the GHO sighting report was made and the cottontail capture close by, the "hawk" was most likely a GHO .
The captures were made during september .
Only so much can be learned from bird guides - nothing is a substitute for first hand experience
Jim