As we've briefly touched on before, identifying hawks in this part of the world can be tricky. This is especially true when trying to distinguish a Cooper's Hawk from a Sharp-shinned Hawk. In this case, the highly-credentialed Toronto Wildlife bird identification brain trust believes this to be a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Click to get a better look for yourself. A Red-tailed Hawk would only have the dark bars farther down on its belly.
There was also a debate as to whether this shot should be published at all since it was taken at the Kortright Conservation Centre in Woodbridge. But, really, if we've already decided that Whitby is in Toronto, then Woodbridge qualifies. If you've never been there, the Kortright is a great place to visit, though you should be prepared for lots of walking and you do have to pay for parking.
