Guess Who's Standing in the Window?

In the years I've lived in my place, I've gotten used to the pigeons in the window. They weren't there much when I had a cat, but in the years since, they've gradually made themselves at home there. Yes, it's a mess; no they're not nearly as cute or as happiness-making as the mourning doves who nested in my window in Illinois; no I haven't gotten around to putting up pikes or other deterrents.

Yesterday morning, though, I saw something I have not ever seen in the years I've lived in Hoboken. As I was getting ready to make coffee, I looked out the window, and saw this guy standing on the fire escape.

That would be a hawk. A hawk! Right there out my window on a snowy day.

The light was great, so I snapped a few shots. He stayed there valiantly (though he did not deign to step out of that shadow crossing his body). I'll post a tighter shot when I get back to my computer at home, but I like the composition of this one. See the hawk's shadow on the brick wall to the right?

I'm not enough of a naturalist to know what breed of hawk this is. Red Tailed, maybe? If you happen to know that kind of thing, give a shout.

So that was a good start to my day. And perhaps you'll notice that there are no pigeons anywhere in this photo. Nor were there any on my windowsill. This could turn into a real win-win situation.