Sharp-shinned Hawks are easy to miss most of the year, but fall migration can suddenly put one in a Florida backyard.

They are the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, built with short rounded wings and a very long tail for chasing small birds through dense trees.

Fall is the easiest season to find them. Cornell notes that Sharp-shinned Hawks are especially visible on southward migration and may also appear at winter bird feeders.

Adults have blue-gray backs, reddish barring across the chest and red eyes. Juveniles are brown above with streaked underparts.

The species can look very similar to the larger Cooper’s Hawk. Size, head shape, tail shape and leg thickness can help, but a single distant view may not be enough for certainty.

The hunting style is fast and direct. Sharp-shinned Hawks dart through woods, across yards and around shrubs in pursuit of sparrows, finches and other small birds.

A feeder does not attract the hawk because of the seed; it attracts concentrations of potential prey.

If a Sharp-shinned Hawk repeatedly hunts around your feeder and you want to discourage it, temporarily taking the feeder down can break up the concentration of small birds.

The fall takeaway: a small, long-tailed hawk flashing through a Florida yard in October may be a Sharp-shinned Hawk moving south or settling into a winter territory.