After a recent visit to Radio Road to check the water treament ponds I headed back along Redwood Shores Highway stopped at Avocet Drive. Near the parking area at the trailhead I was startled to see a young accipiter sitting calmly in a deep puddle and was able to get a few shots.
The strong streaking of the underparts is typical for a juvenile hawk, and the general structure was that of an accipiter. In winter we tend to see more Cooper's Hawks than the similar Sharp-shinned Hawk, but here the coarse streaking extended fully to the bottom of the belly, suggesting a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Here's another view, because I know how much people like reflections. :)
The tail is not seen well, so we lose that valuable field mark (rounded tail in Cooper's, squared in the Sharpie). Soon the bird commenced bathing. Note how the head appears rounded in all these shots, another feature that favors Sharp-shinned over Cooper's.
The bathing proceeded in earnest, so I switched to video. Shortly thereafter the hawk was inadvertently flushed by a pedestrian heading out on the trailhead. Juvenile Accipiter Video. Hope the link works. Confirmations or corrections are welcomed, as I'm one of the last people to ask to identify these very similar accipiters.
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