Greetings,

I have had this small hawk hanging out in my backyard since last 
summer.  He seems to be unafraid of humans and will perch on a limb as 
close as 10 feet from where we are sitting.  Most of the time when 
hunting he stays close to the ground or on the ground.  Rather than dive 
bomb down to the feeder, he zooms in at about 6 feet above the ground.  
The other day, I snapped this picture of him(?) sitting in the English 
ivy waiting for a flock of sparrows to come to the feeder.  The 
horizontal board behind the bird measures 3.5 inches in width.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssave/3284333457/

I am assuming that it is a small Sharp Shinned Hawk but the markings 
appear to be more like the larger Coopers Hawk.  I would greatly 
appreciate hearing from the experts.

Thanks,

George Lane
East Silver Spring  (on the DC border)
Montgomery Co