Looking forward to that raptor page help you might get Elaine... Because I wouldn't be surprised this would be - yet again a new species thrown in here for good measure! - an immature, light phase, SWAINSON's hawk! Way back out East from its normal range! But there >hasThe one detail that leads me to this species, relying solely on the Peterson guide, is the absence of dark band on the TIP of the tail, which your excellent photos seem to reveal. In the book I see no other non-accipiter hawk (wings do seem too long for an accipiter) with barred chest and banded tail that shows this characteristic. MAXIMUM dimensions are also quite smaller than a Red-tail's. This would be a great bird finding for you to report to the specialists!

I don't think your area is too open for song birds. How long have you been feeding in that location? Deep snow cover will push birds south, even if they winter in your area. Your hawk doesn't sound like an Accitper, the lean Hawks that routinely attack feeders. In my experience, Accipters rarely perch in the open, like on a barn for more than a brief amount of time. They are usually inside the tree canopy. Killing a weasel also suggests its more likely a Buteo Hawk, the big stocky hawks that mainly feed on rodents. Buteos are usually on open perches, along the higways, on telephone poles, on buildings, etc. Accipters usually need the element of surprise to catch a healthy adult bird. In the summer time, adult birds will usually mob them and pester then until they leave the area. This time of year, all the song birds are adults and wise. Accipters usually rely on the stealth, below the horizon attack this time of year. They fly really close to the ground and charge into areas they anticipate birds to be and grab any bird that doenst flush in time. I've seen them make attacks on my feeder when its empty. They build up speed and come around the corner the house ambush the feeder. They will make a J turn around the feeder pole and almost touch the ground (right where the Doves would normally be). They do this even without any birds present. Even using this strategy, I've seen doves escape, usually losing a few feathers. Being out in the open makes its hard for the Hawk to get the element of surprise with lots of eyes watching and no terrian to take advantage of. Now, in the summer time with fledgings everywhere, Accipters can catch them without the element of surprise. If you get alot of accipter attacks, you can try a decoy. Since the hawk usually goes for the last bird to move when attacking. Purple Martin landlords use these to reduce the chances for success. But I don't think your lack of birds is related to the hawk. I've seen our birds spot an accipter 200 yards away and freeze. A Buteo hawk could be perched 50 yards away and they would be indifferent to it, except when nesting.

Could be. Here's what the breast of an immature Cooper's Hawk looks like. Only thing is, they're brown above, not light gray: The two-tone call you describe is atypical for a Cooper's Hawk, too -- their call is usually a series of one-note harsh keks. But if it was an immature, possibly they make a different call -- especially if they're frustrated while hunting for food. Behavior sounds more like it was hunting. It probably had seen something yummy-looking lurking in the tree and was trying to get at it. I wonder if you could have seen a Goshawk? The males are a few inches larger than crows, but length can be difficult to estimate. If there's a forest anywhere near you, it's a possibility -- they do breed in the NE corner of PA and winter in all of PA. Their display call is described by Sibley as a "wailing gull-like KREE-ah, repeated regularly. Juvenile begging call a plaintive scream kree-ah." I'm not sure that the recording I've linked below is that call, but there it is for what it's worth. Call at nest is described as a loud, cackling kye, kye, kye, which is what this recording may have captured. From the underside their tail looks rather as you've described it, and they do fly with their tails closed as well as open. When flying with tail closed, the shape is similar to a Cooper's Hawk -- the wings are a bit longer and thinner. > You can go to the Cornell site at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/ to hear sounds of the Cooper's Hawk (it's really annoying that this site doesn't convert URL's embedded in posts to links.) Here is a link that might be useful: Goshawk recording

Well it was people that didn't really know any better, but i wanted to be sure since i am doing a presentation on it. How embarrassing would it be to do a presentation on it, and it turns out to be wrong.But wow thanks a lot i really appreciate it. The class is called biology for naturalists, and i really enjoy it. The area i live in is on the St. Lawrence River but specifically in a huge wetland area in Akwesasne, an Indian reservation that straddles the U.S. Canadian border, so i am sure to have many more pictures of better quality to show soon. Again thanks.