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Small raptor -- a little larger than a robin. Detail is not great but my coworkers and I watched it for over an hour. We think it was a merlin.
Suburbia formerly wooded riverside.
Spotted on Feb 28, 2018
Submitted on Feb 28, 2018
4 Comments
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Shar...
That would make it immature
We considered the sharpie too, but when the sun went behind a cloud and the bird was less backlit, we thought we saw vertical streaking on the chest/belly rather than horizontal barring. You can see some of that in the second photo. It's a close call, though. We are in the non-breeding range for both species.
My best guess judging by your description is a Sharp-shinned hawk.