If it was a Cooper's hawk, it was a small one. He's hung around our neighborhood for a couple years. Dined well on dove the other day and nailed several birds at the bird feeder over the winter. He (or she) is not a large bird. Sleek, nimble and lies in and out of the trees in the back yard like an acrobat especially when it does a fly by and flushes birds during the winter. The doves take off and this little hawk picks one, flies among the trees. Sometimes he's successful and sometimes not. Usually it's a sneak attack, flies over the peak of the house, swoops down and nails a dove or some other bird before the meal to be even knows what hits it.Huhwhat? said:How big was it. My first reaction, based on the light neck feathers, and the rounded tail feathers is Cooper's hawk.
http://www.audubon.org/news/a-beginners-guide-iding-coopers-and-sharp-shinned-hawks