December Challenge: Day 9 .....

Apex.

Not sure if this qualifies for the apex challenge, but I'm going to post it as such.

Not five minutes before this hawk starting roosting on the apex of one of our garden frames, there was a squirrel eating from the bird feeder hanging from it. I got some pictures of the squirrel and I was looking at them for a possible blip. Then I went back to the bathroom window to see if the squirrel was still there. To my delight the squirrel had been replaced by this beautiful hawk. But not worries, the hawk had not gotten her.

My first instinct was to say that this was a red-tailed hawk because that is what we have the most of around here. But then after checking my bird books I think it is either a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk or a juvenile Cooper's hawk. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know. This photo was taken from my upstairs bathroom window in very bad light. So I apologize for the iffy quality.