ML221691771

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

This is not a good image, but I have uploaded this because I wanted to provide a photograph of the raptor in question.

Observation details

As I was in my backyard, I noticed a raptor flying over the nearby foothills. I used my camera to zoom into it and see what species it was. It seemed to have a rounded head and slender profile, so I assumed it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk. However, after closer scrutinization, I began to consider the possibility of it being a Northern Goshawk, a rare species in this area. I did manage to take a photograph of the raptor in question. The raptor had a darkish crown, muscular body, and squared tail. It also had long wings, which was the only unusual aspect to the NOGO hypothesis, since Northern Goshawks, being forest hawks, have short wings, since they need to fly between dense trees to catch their prey. I have studied all of the raptor species found in my area, and none of them seem to match the profile of this bird. Sharp-shinned, my original identification, would not make sense, because the raptor seemed far too muscular to be a Sharp-shinned, and it had a rounded head, very different from the "blocky" head shape of a Cooper's Hawk. With these two species have been ruled out, none of the other local raptor species made sense for identification. If this raptor does turn out to be a Northern Goshawk, it would be the second county record submitted on eBird (the first eBird record of a Northern Goshawk in Santa Clara County was written on a checklist from February 22, 1989). Update 4/8/20: Merlin Bird ID has suggested Northern Goshawk as the bird present in this photograph. I ran the app based on my current location and preloaded with a list of bird species found in the Pacific states. Based on this, it suggested two choices for the bird in the photograph - Northern Goshawk and Barn Owl. Of these, the first seems more plausible than the second. While the photograph itself is very blurry, the fact that the app only listed these two species does suggest that there is a non-negligible chance that this is a Northern Goshawk. Update 9/23/22: This bird was later confirmed to be a Cooper's Hawk. It makes more sense — I think I was misled by the fact that I saw it at a distance.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P1000

ISO

100

Focal length

135 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

283 pixels x 246 pixels

Original file size

24.33 KB