Near the top

  

As I was doing chores around the house today, I kept hearing an accipiter calling — kek, kek, kek, kek, kek, kek, kek.  It was only calling occasionally (or rarely), with long pauses in between, but every time I heard it I tried to locate the bird.  After several attempts, I finally found it perched near the top of a tall redwood tree just down the street.  It was pretty high up there, so this is one of the best photos I took.  [You can click on the image for a larger view.]

I'm not totally sure about the identification.  I'm leaning towards a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperi), perhaps a small male, but if you have thoughts about the i.d., let me know.

I like thinking about them sitting up there, among the redwood branches high above the town, surveying what's going on down below.