I think it's a red shouldered hawk, but it might be a Cooper's hawk

[stuny]

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In our favorite speed walking location.

In a way, this is an important photo.  I took it with my VLux 5, the last of the line.  I've used and/or owned the Panasonic predecessor of this camera, the Vlux 2, 4 and 114, all of which had a weakness finally overcome with the Vlux 5.  That issue was how to focus when the autofocus system gets something in front of the subject sharp but not the subject, and the manual focus is not up to the task.  What you see below was easy to do on the Vlux 5, which surprised me.  If you have any interest in a camera like this, move fast.  Panasonic got out of the market of cameras with permanently attached lenses, so this is the last of the line.  When current stock is gone, that's it.  BTW:  All zoom lens Panaleicas have a function for jpegs that doubles the long end of the lens, using a very nearly lossless algorithm to do so, called iZoom.  That makes the 25-400 (equivalent) into a 25-800 zoom, as used here.

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[RexGig0]

Well-done! I agree that this is probably a Cooper’s Hawk, and unlikely to be a Red-Shouldered Hawk, based upon the wing feathers that we can see. (My uncertainly is based upon local color variations that may exist, or perhaps a species or sub-species that is unfamiliar to me; we live in SE Texas, and I am presuming that you captured this image in the NE USA. Our usual guidebook is for raptors west of the Mississippi River.)

Edited March 12, 2024 by RexGig0

[pcgarner]

Very nice capture.

[war]

Whatever the species, its a nice clear shot in that tangle of branches.

 We're always fighting to capture birds that don't cooperate and alight on the very ends of branches for us. 

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Stuart,

Nice photo.

Both are good choices.

If I was to choose 1 of them only.

I would choose a Cooper's Hawk.

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited March 14, 2024 by Michael Geschlecht