I assume this is a Red-tailed Hawk. Supposedly there are 9 raptors that are fairly common around here, but it seems like I only see Red-tailed Hawks.
Oops! I meant to post this to Bird ID
- CLOSED - CLOSED - CLOSED -
This message was edited Mar 15, 2014 8:48 AM
This message was edited Mar 18, 2014 8:56 AM
I saw this a couple of days ago and hoped another would answer.
Because of the darker throat and upper breast I am not so sure. I cannot tell if it is lighting or not. Maybe go ahead and post this in the ID forum, if no one else responds here.
Don't think it's a Red-tailed, but not sure which without a better view, preferably showing the tail.
Resin
Okay, here is the list of suspects:
Common this time of year are Northern Harrier, Swainson's, Red-tailed. Fairly common are Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, Ferrugenous, Rough-legged, and Prairie Falcon. Uncommon but still possible are Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, and Merlin. Photo taken in Canon City, a riparian area near a river canyon. The hawks reported on last month's bird count were Red-tailed and Sharp-shinned.
I never saw more of the hawk than can be seen in the photos, Sorry.
Why do you NOT think it is a Red-tailed?
This message was edited Mar 17, 2014 3:22 PM
Red-tailed at least usually has an obvious streaky area around the belly, and the legs on yours also look rather long. But R-t is very variable (more so than most other raptors), so it's possible I'm wrong in discounting it.
It is a Buteo; you can definitely count out Northern Harrier and any of the falcons and Accipiter hawks. That leaves Ferruginous and Rough-legged - but it doesn't look too much like either of those, either! I suppose there's always the option of an escaped falconer's bird, in which case the search extends worldwide in options.
Resin
Thank you!
Since I didn't post this to the ID forum, I can't close this. I will just say CLOSED here.
