tarrann81 Looking forvvard to hearing vvhat the bird expert has to say. I am in south vvestern ontario, about an hr from the detroit border if that makes a difference.
The expert told me he'd look at it tonight and email me tomorrow as he was at work. I have been out of work because we are snowed in; no snow plows here.
You, being as far south in Ontario, puts you really close to the border of Cooper's staying & leaving for the winter --- tricky if going by that but you have Goshawks all seasons. The one characteristic that jumps out at me is the blackish-brown streaks look to be heavier on the flanks of the bird which tells me juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWK. In a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, the streaks are more fine on the breast and then usually reduced (or even absent sometimes) on the belly which is not what I see on the OP's pictured bird. I'll be a little surprised if my expert tells me it is a Cooper's.
For you, it does make some difference. Cooper's Hawks around me don't bother my large fowl (Buckeyes), and I have seen my rooster run off a juvenile Cooper's.
However, a Northern Goshawk preys on full grown ducks and even grown hares. It even takes crows. A N. Goshawk is a little bit larger than a Cooper's Hawk and a more formidable predator for your chickens, IMHO. I have never seen a Northern Goshawk in person (only pictures) & they are rare or uncommon in the continental U.S. (numbers are reduced in their western U.S. range, but they are in Maine, Vermont New Hampshire area).
The expert told me he'd look at it tonight and email me tomorrow as he was at work. I have been out of work because we are snowed in; no snow plows here.
You, being as far south in Ontario, puts you really close to the border of Cooper's staying & leaving for the winter --- tricky if going by that but you have Goshawks all seasons. The one characteristic that jumps out at me is the blackish-brown streaks look to be heavier on the flanks of the bird which tells me juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWK. In a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, the streaks are more fine on the breast and then usually reduced (or even absent sometimes) on the belly which is not what I see on the OP's pictured bird. I'll be a little surprised if my expert tells me it is a Cooper's.
For you, it does make some difference. Cooper's Hawks around me don't bother my large fowl (Buckeyes), and I have seen my rooster run off a juvenile Cooper's.
However, a Northern Goshawk preys on full grown ducks and even grown hares. It even takes crows. A N. Goshawk is a little bit larger than a Cooper's Hawk and a more formidable predator for your chickens, IMHO. I have never seen a Northern Goshawk in person (only pictures) & they are rare or uncommon in the continental U.S. (numbers are reduced in their western U.S. range, but they are in Maine, Vermont New Hampshire area).
