What kind of hawk is this?

Saw this hawk today - not sure what kind it is:

We see a lot of coopers hawks, but my best guess is a Red Shouldered Hawk.

Tennessee Birding V

This is my final Tennessee birding series post - another morning walk along the driveway. I saw many of the same birds as seen previously - perhaps the same birds as other days in some cases, but also some new ones. It was sad to have the vacation come to an end, but the nice thing is that there are birds to see at home, too!

#1
You can clearly see the long beak on this hairy woodpecker that is nearly as long as its head.

Hairy Woodpecker & Indigo Bunting (juvenile?)

#2
This bird almost looks cartoonish with how large its eyes are.

Indigo Bunting (juvenile?)

And another one (there were many them again):

Indigo Bunting (juvenile?)

#3

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)

#4
Hard to say on this one.

Tennessee Warbler?

#5
Still trying to learn the differences between the Carolina and Black-capped Chickadee, but one tip from All About Birds that Carolina Chickadees have less white-edging in the wings is starting to give me more confidence that this is in fact a Carolina Chickadee (and also the one from post II).

Carolina Chickadee

#6
And the last bird I saw was another blue bird, but not an indigo bunting this time!

Blue Jay

That's it. I look forward to going back again someday!

Tennessee Birding III

Our hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park weren't really focused on birding per-say, however, that doesn't mean I didn't keep an eye out and occasionally snap a few photos of them every so often. In this post I'll show some that I managed to take while not on a exclusive birding walks.

#1
We saw this bird perched when nearly to the top of the Chimney Tops peak. It was looking out over the vast valley below (just like we were doing) and never turned around for me (or at least we didn't stick around long enough to see). I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it was a Dark-eyed Junko.

Dark-eyed Junko

#2
On another hike to Andrew's Bald just as we were arriving to the clearing, a hawk flew out in front of us as we approached. We only got a quick glace at it, but I quickly grabbed the camera and went to see if I could spot it again. I'm not sure if it was the one, but I did see several birds soaring in the distance. I thought at first that they were Turkey Vultures since they were soaring together, but I soon found that they were actually hawks of some kind. Later one flew more overhead and I managed to snap a few photos. It's possible that they were two different birds. I wasn't paying super close attention as the latter bird caught me by surprise as it flew over.

Here's some shots from the grouping of birds in the distance:

And then the one that flew overhead:

I'm thinking that they were Red-shouldered Hawks, but I'm not certain. Reasons:

1. Dark wing tips
2. Transparent patch near wing tips
3. Some reddish is visible

The one that flew over (latter two photos) may have been a juvenile since it appears to have a more spotted feathers on the body and not very much reddish coloring.

#3

I saw another hawk in the distance when at our cabin as well. Unfortunately, it was even further away, but it looks similar and was likely another Red-shouldered Hawk.

Tennessee Birding II

This is part two of my Tennessee birding series. Here's some shots from another morning walk along the driveway to our cabin. This was a longer walk than the first.

#1
These two robins were hanging out on the tree top.

Two American Robins

#2
I have not a clue what this little guy is.

Mystery bird

But, this might be another shot of it. It looks like it could be another Nashville Warbler?

Nashville Warbler?

#3

This next one perched for quite a while and didn't seem to mind me taking photos of it. I'm pretty confident that it's a Eastern Kingbird.

Eastern Kingbird stretching out its head

Here's another shot of it that shows the white-tips on the tail feathers better:

Eastern Kingbird

#4

This is either a Carolina Chickadee or a Black-capped Chickadee. The photo isn't good enough to distinguish very well, so it could be either, but due to being further south, I'm going to go with Carolina Chickadee.

Carolina or Black-capped Chickadee

#5

Northern Flicker

#6
This guy stuck around for a while, but just wouldn't turn around for me! I managed to get a photo as he turned his head, though, revealing his red eyes.

Eastern Towhee

#7

Downy Woodpecker

#8
This is a beautiful blue bird!

Indigo Bunting

#9
The classic hummingbird silhouette.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

And now with some color:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)

Tennessee Birding I

This past week I had the pleasure of vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. During which on many mornings I was able to go on birding walks along the long driveway of our cabin. I also saw and photographed some birds on some hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This series of blog posts will document my sights.

Here are the birds I saw on my first birding walk of the trip.

#1
I recognize these guys!

Two American Goldfinches (males)

#2

I've spent way too long trying to figure out what this one is. I'm thinking it might be a Nashville Warbler, but I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to have a full eye ring, which is making me second guess. Unfortunately I was only able to get a few shots of it and they all show about the same view.

Nashville Warbler?

#3

This bird was nearby, so maybe it's the same? Juvenile? I'm even more clueless on this one.

Juvenile Nashville Warbler?

I was able to get some more shots of this one (at least I think it's the same one):

Juvenile Nashville Warbler?

These birds were hopping around the trees along the driveway/forest edge. Please help if you have any ideas!

#4

And one that I know! This robin let me get very close (less then 10 feet).

Immature American Robin

It found a worm on the gravel road:

Immature American Robin finds a worm

And proceeded to gobble it up. It looks like something might be wrong with it's left eye.

That's all for my first of many to come.

Cooper's Hawk

Earlier this year, this Cooper's Hawk was working on building a nest in a tree near our house. I took these photos on March 23rd:

I'm still struggling with determining whether this is a Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk. However, using these identification tips, I've been going with Cooper's Hawk because:

1. The tail feathers appear to be rounded as opposed to more square
2. The head seems fairly large as opposed to small compared to the body

Those are the most obvious things to me, however, on the contrary the legs appear to be pretty long, particularly in the second photo, which is more characteristic of the Sharp-shinned Hawk.

I did hear the bird make several a short chirps unlike any of the sound clips on allaboutbirds.com, however, this description from the site sounds accurate:

Males frequently make a kik call to tell their mates where they are; females make this call too, but less often.

It sounded very much like this recording from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Macaulay Library.