From: David McLeod <mcleodda@nbnet.nb.ca>
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2021 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: Nature Miramichi – One dies so one can live
Hi Donna,
Judging by the size of this hawk, it looks like a Cooper’s Hawk (length16.5″) compared to the European Starling (length 8.5″), because this one looks about twice as long. The vertical streaking on the underside and the yellow iris indicate it to be a juvenile bird. At 11″ in length, the similar Sharp-shinned Hawk would be only 3.5″ longer which is not the case here.
Pam sent me a photo of a Cooper’s Hawk taken by David Shannon at Ritchie Wharf on Jan. 30, 2021, but this one was an adult bird with the rusty horizontal cross-barring of the underside. This species has been rare in the Miramichi area in the past, but several sighting have been made over the past three years, so perhaps they are permanently extending their range northward similar to the Northern Cardinal due to global warming.
Thanks to you and Deanna for sharing her photo.
Dave
Nature Miramichi 
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