 Virginia's Warbler, Summerhaven, July 13, 2025. American Goshawk Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext. at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 2000, EV +1.0. My wife and I went birding with our friends Jim and Marty on Sunday morning July 13th, walking down Sabino Canyon Parkway toward Marshall Gulch. Just south of the water department we spotted a raptor on one of the trees recently burned in the Bighorn Fire. The bird was really far away, uphill, and well, since common birds are common, we suspected it was a Cooper's Hawk, and kept on walking! As always, I took photos . . . I downloaded the photographs to my computer on Monday. To confirm the species,, I took a photo of the computer screen for Merlin Bird ID (Cornell). Merlin was very persistent, telling me more than once that this was not a Cooper's Hawk, but an American Goshawk, one of three related accipiter* species in the U.S. *Don't click on your dictionary app, I will explain "accipiter" below.  The American Goshawk, formerly know as the Northern Goshawk, is an accipiter like the Cooper's and Sharp-shinned, but a bit larger. The American Goshawk lives and breeds away from human populations and is very protective of their nests and aggressive towards people or animals that get too close! Therefore, spotting one it is a relatively rare occurrence. One of the distinguishing field marks is the bold white eye-line above the eye, seen in the photo above. Below, the Goshawk crouches and takes off.   The Goshawk is larger than either the Cooper's or Sharp-shinned, and and like all the accipiters the females are larger than the males.  Below, a view of the extended right wing. The accipiter wing has a low aspect ratio, being short in relation to its width. More on this in a minute. 
Of the 4 Families in this order, the Goshawk is in the Family Accipitridae. Within this Family there are several Genera, with the goshawk being in the Genus Accipiter, along with the Cooper's and Sharp-shinned hawks. Accipiters (the Genus) are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail. They often ambush their prey, mainly small birds and mammals, capturing them after a short chase. The typical flight pattern is a series of flaps followed by a short glide. They are commonly found in wooded or shrubby areas. (Wikipedia). Buteo is another Genus in the Family Accipitridae, and includes the hawks we commonly see in SE Arizona, including the Red-tailed, Zone-tailed, Swainson's, and Ferruginous. So, Goshawks, Cooper's and Sharp-shinneds are commonly referred to as "Accipiters," and Red-tailed and Zone-tailed as "Buteos," after their respective Genera. In the field these two Genera look and fly differently, with Accipiters flapping and gliding, and Buteos commonly soaring. In flight accipters and buteos look different. As previously noted, Accipters have lower wing aspect ratios (length/width) compared to buteos. For illustration, below are two images, on the left the Goshawk we saw on Sunday July 13th, and on the right a Red-tailed Hawk captured on Mt Lemmon in October of 2023.
Although we did not see other accipiters on Sunday, this is a great time to reach into the archive and catch up on the other two accipiters we do see in the U.S., Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Cooper's Hawk Canon 6D, Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm, 1/640 sec., f/9, ISO 200, EV +0.
Note that the eye color of the Cooper's varies from blue to blue-gray as a nestling to yellow as juveniles, then to yellow/orange or red as adults. (Ref: Avian Recon.) The bird above is likely a juvenile, the one below an adult.  Canon 6D, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1600, +0.67 EV. Below, a Cooper's in flight showing the typical short and wide wings with a long and slightly rounded tail.  Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext. at 420 mm, 1/3200 sec., f/8, ISO 2000, +1.67 EV. Below, from Summerhaven in August of 2019, a Cooper's Hawk enjoying an early dinner during the monsoon.  Canon 7D Mk II, EF 100-400mm at 400 mm, 1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200, +0.67 EV. In the spring of 2017 a pair of Cooper's Hawks nested in Agua Caliente Park, high in a tree directly over the Rose Cottage Education Center. The image below was captured on June 1, 2017, showing presumably the mother to the left, and her nestling peeking through the leaves to the right.  Canon 7D Mk II, Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm, 1/200 sec., f/6.3, ISO 400, +0 EV. The image below was captured a week later, June 8, 2017. The nestling is now a fledgling, sitting on an adjacent branch, left leg down, right leg tucked up. Note that the eyes are grey/yellow.  Canon 7D Mk II, Sigma 150-600mm at 484mm, 1/000 sec., f/10, ISO 400, -0.67 EV. Sharp-shinned Hawk Canon R7, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/4000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 3200, +0.67 EV.
Sharp-shinned's are similar in appearance to Cooper's, but in flight the Sharp-shinned has a short wide neck with the head in-line with the wrist joints on the wings, evident in the image above.The tail is long and squared off, whereas the Cooper's has a more curved tail. Sharp-shinned's are commonly spotted at hawk watches in the fall. The image above was captured at Agua Caliente in December of 2023. Virginia's Warbler Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x ext. at 700mm, 1/400 sec., f/10, ISO 8000, -0.33 EV. In addition to the American Goshawk, we spotted some songbirds, including this Virginia's Warbler.
Virginia's Warblers are gray with yellow at the tail and on the breast, and a bold round eye-ring, which we can see in the images above and below.   Above and below we can see the white eye ring and the yellow feathers at the rump.  Western Bluebird Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x ext. at 700mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10 ISO 5000, +1.0 EV. The Western Bluebird is a regular on the mountain in the summer where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes. Above, likely a male Western Bluebird perched on a snag on July 13th. For more on the Western Bluebird, summer and winter, see the links below to prior blog posts. Click on the title or the photograph. Western Flycatcher, AKA Cordilleran . . Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x ext. at 700mm, 1/500 sec., f/10, ISO 3200, +0.67 EV.
Above and below, images of a Western Flycatcher near Sabino Canyon Parkway on July 13th. Note that this bird has a yellow band on the left leg, and a metal band with ID number of the right leg (metal band just barely visible, ID number is not).  Western Flycatchers are small flycatchers in the genus Empidonax (Empids) that winter in Mexico and return to mountain riparian habitats to nest each year. They are greenish brown above, and pale below with a large head and a straight bill, wide at the base. They eat insects and nest on flat areas, including platform nests built especially for them. 
The bird shown above was likely banded by Charles or Harold in prior years. Charles' research has demonstrated that the birds he banded tended to return to Summerhaven to nest in subsequent years, sometimes in exactly the same spot. Below, a platform nest built especially for the Western Flycatcher with a female sitting on the nest on July 13th. It is not clear if she is incubating eggs or not. Mid-July is a bit late for breeding, and this could be a second try for this season.  For more on Western Flycatchers, see this link: That is all for now!
More coming soon. . . . . Happy Trails!
3 Comments
Marty Herde
7/25/2025 07:33:10 am
Henry, thanks for all the great information! Finding, and belatedly identifying the Goshawk was a treat!
BRUCE GUERCIO
10/1/2025 01:30:44 pm
Excellent images! Thank you!!
Henry Johnson
10/1/2025 07:46:04 pm
Bruce: Many thanks! Leave a Reply. |
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