[BirderBert]

This is a Female Cooper's Hawk. She is the biggest female Coop I have seen! At first glance I thought she was a juvenile with those orange eyes and the long time she spent hunting on the ground ie walking . The guides say some females eyes never progress beyond Orange and that it's the males who predominantly end up with red eyes! Any thoughts?

CoopersF1 by BirderBert, on Flickr

[birdergirl]

Looks like an adult to me based on plumage Bert that's gone through a moult. Not sure if its possible to determine a finer age like second year based on the eye colour. It usually takes more than a year for the eye to turn fully red.

Cheers,
Mel