RedIbis
Philosopher
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2007
- Messages
- 6,899
Sorry, I missed this.
To me, based on Sibley's "Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America", this is a Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus. I base this identification mainly on the evenly streaked belly, and the light crescent of the upper wing tip. It appears to be a juvenile bird, and that's often tricky no matter what raptor you're looking at, but the Broad-winged would be either much lighter, almost Osprey-white, on the undersides, or much darker, with white primaries and secondaries (if juvenile). In all adult plumages in the book, the Broad-winged has a distinct white tail band, which I cannot find on the bird in your picture.
The alternative would, of course, be the Red-tailed hawk, but while this species has a white "window" on the primaries, the bird in your picture seems to me to have rather the crescent-shaped patch of the Red-shouldered. However, I would appreciate if someone with more experience of American hawks would chime in...
Thanks for your input! I suspect you're correct as that would be the most likely and least sexy possibility. I'm very familiar with Red Shouldereds which I've photographed many times, and a juvy would fit the bill. The Broad Wing is a much more rare occurance.
I participated in the 2008 Audubon Christmas Bird Count this past Sunday. I have a few good pics that I'll share soon. We ID'd over 100 species and counted thousands of birds.