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What is it, what is it?

WifeKidsandDog

By WifeKidsandDog
in Bird Watching

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Steve Foss Grand Master

Steve Foss

Posted
Posted

My best guess is an immature rough-legged hawk. Plumage

in buteo species can vary widely among individuals,

but this fits the bill for most of the field marks for juveniles

of the species in both National Geographic and Sibley guides.

Were these cropped from long distance, or

do you have fuller frame images? I pulled them up in photoshop

to get a closer look, but low-res images pixilate quickly

when you do that. Can you e-mail me a couple of the

originals?

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M.T. Bucket Rising Star

M.T. Bucket

Posted
Posted

I will concur with Steve's call. At first I thought it might be a light adult female Rough-legged Hawk, because it appeared that the underwing coverts were darker than the secondaries in the first shot, but it's also pretty clear on the upper side of the wing that the greater primary coverts are not colored the same as the primaries as they would be in the female.

In both shots the dark 'wrist' patch is visible as is the light band on the upper part of the tail just behind the upper tail coverts. The solid dark belly and light streaky breast, most visible on the first photo, are also present on the female and are (to me) the easiest way to identify a perched Rough-legged Hawk when you're going by at 55mph.

I like Rough-legged Hawks. I have an area near my home with some old tamarack bogs that were converted to meadows that I like to watch in the fall to see the first Rough-legged Hawk of the year. Sometimes I'll see a dark morph one glide over with its slight dihedral and mistake it for a raven in the sunlight, but once it flies out of the sun the light outerwing and tail become visible and unmistakeable.

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Steve Foss Grand Master

Steve Foss

Posted
Posted

Cheryl: Your first post is a rough-legged.

Your second I'm not sure about.

Your third is a red-tailed.

The second could be either species. In either case, it's a dark-phase bird, and without seeing the underside, I'm not confident enough of markings to make an ID. If I had to guess, and a guess it is, I'd say No. 2 is an adult dark-phase red-tailed.

The rough-looking legs aren't enough to call a hawk a R-L. Lots of buteos have that look to their legs.

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WifeKidsandDog Experienced

WifeKidsandDog

Posted
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Posted

Quote:

Nope, no one with a fat wallet loves me THAT much!

By "the founder" do you mean Cheryl's Santa, the one who will deliver prime glass under the tree?

Awww, you must find some fat-walleted friends for next year, then.

Yes Founder and Santa. Just don't think he's aware of what's to be left under the tree yet, better start dropping some hints.

On the other hand I better not -- price tag would give him a heart attack (esp. at his age).

I'll be getting myself in trouble now!

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