Buteos are never boring! Even our most common one, the Red-tailed, has
variation both subtle and dramatic for a lifetime of interest and wonder. I
have appreciated hearing everyone's perspectives on Dave's bird.
I wanted to note that a few weeks ago Chris Petrizzo and I saw a similar
immature redtail in the Endovalley in RMNP. Ours had an almost completely
bright white head. https://ebird.org/checklist/S73061878 . If it was a
Krider's (hard to say for sure because we only got very brief distant looks at
its dorsal side) then I think it would be unusual to see up in the mts like
that. Interestingly, now we have Dave's very light redtail up off of the
plains as well.
One thing to keep in mind with the "three white lights" field marks of the
Ferruginous Hawk is that immature redtails can often show a similar pattern.
They regularly show a white base of the tail, and they have light windows or
panels on the outer third of the wing. I admit to having been fooled by this
(cough cough) more than once!
Peter RuprechtSuperior
On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 7:55:19 PM MDT, Dave Hyde
<[email protected]> wrote:
Thank you all for your suggestions. I accept the pale Red-tail, possible
Krider’s hawk (even though looking at the photo I thought there’s no way this
can be a Red-tail: white head, white rump, barred tail!). But there is more to
the story of this pale red-tail. I was looking out the kitchen window and the
bird flew up from below the window, which is when I saw its tail. I got to
thinking, what would any large hawk be doing on the ground outside my window?
So I went and looked on the ground there for any signs of avian mayhem. And I
found … a complete wing of a Yellow-rumped warbler! There were no excess
feathers or body anywhere although I later found the other wing, also intact.
Whatever had got this warbler – and it may not have been this hawk as the wing
feathers were only slightly supple as if the bird had died yesterday or early
in the morning – had clipped off its wings and carried off the body! In fact, I
had the impression that the pale hawk had something in its grasp as it landed
atop the tree because it looked down at its feet when it alit. I dunno, this
was certainly a strange hawk encounter. Here’s a photo of one of the warbler
wings, and thank you all again for your advice – Dave
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Joe
Kipper <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 7:24:22 PM
To: Colorado Birds <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Hawk i.d. Storm Mountain, Larimer Cty
Yes, this is a definite juvenile Red-tailed. When I see birds like this in the
field I don't really take note of the field marks like a should I just say
"this is a Red-tailed because of the GISS," but this is a good opportunity to
note the field marks since Osprey and Ferruginous Hawk were suggested. This
bird is paler individual so it doesn't have the "helmeted" appearance that most
adults and some very dark juveniles have. The "three points of white" field
mark is a field mark that is useful when looking at the dorsal side of soaring
buteos. Because this bird is perched, you can't even see the "wrists" mentioned
by Caleb that would be white on a Ferrug. White speckling on the scapulars is
another field mark of RTHA. Adult Ferrug would have orangish back with
steel-blue primaries and juvenile Ferrug would have a uniform brown back.
Unfeathered legs are also a huge field mark, thank you Todd D.
Good Birding everyone! In a few months we will have plenty of opportunities to
study the many buteos that winter here and their endless myriad of unique color
morphs and plumages.
Joe Kipper,
Fort Collins
On Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 4:55:15 PM UTC-6 [email protected] wrote:
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, check out light western juv. in Sibley. Bands on tail
from Dave's description. Also, no feathered legs that Ferrug would show.
On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:42 PM Dave Hyde <[email protected]> wrote:
HI CObirders,,
At 1.25pm today as I looked out my kitchen window I saw a large
hawk fly upwards and over the house. All I saw was a spread tail with many fine
bands. I grabbed my binoculars and camera and went to the front of the house to
see the hawk land atop a pine tree. I spotted it and thought, ‘that looks like
an Osprey! Better take a picture.’ So I did and got 3 photos before the bird
flew away. As it went it looked like it had a white rump. This is the best
photo I got. Can anyone please tell me what hawk this is? – Dave Hyde/nr Storm
Moutain, Larimer Cty.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Longmont, CO
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