A friend who knows a lot more about birds than me sent me this in an email:
I am pretty sure your visiting friend in your backyard is an Accipiter Striatus: The Sharp Shinned Hawk. It looks similar to the Coopers Hawk, however the Coopers is slightly bigger.
I would have to see the tail but I believe it would have had black bars over white: When it flies it it takes several beats and a glide. It has a rusty chest, barred breast. It is probably an adult bird. It is not a Peregrine because the Peregrine has a mark on its cheek that look like a sideburn.
Woah. That is jaw dropping. And what a superb image.
Forgive my ignorance, but what bird of prey are we looking at here?
I think it is a Peregrine Falcon.
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A friend who knows a lot more about birds than me sent me this in an email:
Thanks David, updated the blog post to say that we think it is an Accipiter Striatus: The Sharp Shinned Hawk.
That makes sense. It would be the songbirds that would be cowering, though David. I love watching hawks fly.