smussler Loc: Land O Lakes, FL - Formerly Miller Place, NY

Took this pic yesterday in my backyard in Land O Lakes, FL
What kind of bird is it? I'm in Florida all of two months now - from LI, NY . . .

Merlin bird app ids it as a Red Shouldered Hawk.
Facebook friend says maybe a Cooper's hawk

Picture is cropped - a lot.
Also my first use of Affinity Photo editor.

(Download)

Flying Three Loc: Berthoud, CO

I like the shot. I don't know the variations in hawks that well.

Dave327 Loc: Duluth, GA. USA

That is a Red Shouldered Hawk - Nice red shoulder and pattern on the chest.

smussler Loc: Land O Lakes, FL - Formerly Miller Place, NY

Thanks. With my shaky hands, I'm surprised how well that hand held shot came out.
I looked at google images for the two types of hawks. They're pretty similar looking . . .

jak86094

I concur: Red-shouldered Hawk. What I call the checkerboard pattern on wings, striped breast, and lack of a dark crown differentiate this species from Cooper’s. It is not always easy to get good shots of either bird. Good work. jak

smussler Loc: Land O Lakes, FL - Formerly Miller Place, NY

Thanks. I guess I need to thank the bird for perching itself in front of the Spanish Moss instead of behind it. I'm in process of relocating to FL from Long Island. The variety of animal life visible to me from by backyard on my postage stamp sized lot is amazing. Down here two months and I've seen two owls - no camera in hand. First time in my life that I've seen an owl in the wild. I've seen surveyors in field behind my house, so I'm thinking my great view will be replaced by hundreds of houses spaced 10 feet apart in the near future. Even with this pandemic, new construction is continuing here in Land O Lakes. There's at least a dozen houses in various stages of construction within a 1000 feet of me. The birds don't seem to mind too much. I've got a pair of Sandhill Cranes in my yard everyday for the past week. Heck, they'll stand on my lanai, 6 feet from me looking at me thru my sliding glass door.
I've seen hawks a couple of times from my backyard, but for the most part they keep their distance. A lot of cropping in my image. I had a TC on my Sigma 100-400 and used a tripod, but IQ wasn't good. The cropped image, without TC is much better. Need to get closer. Do raptors eat bird seed? (Joking...)

Next goal - get decent shot of white birds that also visit quite frequently - but a bit more skittish than the Cranes.

bluezzzzz Loc: Stamping Ground, KY

The app Merlin Bird ID, using a screen shot of your photo, confirms most posters opinion that it is a Red-shouldered Hawk.

Good job!

Marshall

smussler Loc: Land O Lakes, FL - Formerly Miller Place, NY

Which I stated in my original post. Just looking for confirmation, as Merlin - as good as it usually is isn't 100%.