BajaNomad - goshawk pic/ and a larger visitor!

goshawk pic/ and a larger visitor!

astrobaja - 9-12-2010 at 10:34 AM

Hi all,

This morning my Wife Pamela went for a walk up the arroyo and saw a big goshawk perched in the top of one of our big oaks, so we got the camera but she only got off one pic before it took off. We have loads of different raptors here, yesterday we had a pair of sharp shinned hawks hunting topos in our garden (much appreciated!). In the spring we always have a pair of golden eagles and we have a pair of red tailed hawks pretty much all year round! The number of ranchers here are pretty low which means not so many birds get shot, it seems unfortunately the rancher mentality here is about the same as it was back in Canada

[Edited on 9-14-2010 by astrobaja]

goshawksm.jpg - 26kB

What a Beautiful Picture!

Gypsy Jan - 9-12-2010 at 11:01 AM

A few years back, we had a wounded Peregrine falcon hanging around in the mornings, hunting the nesting pigeons in our seacliff.

Some of his primary flight feathers were missing, so he his movements were awkward and off-balance, but he could still fly and maneuver.

After a few weeks of appearing every morning, he stopped showing up and I thought, "So, that is that."

Next spring, he reappeared with a juvenile and they spent a couple of days with us, combing the cliff. and then vanished.

I guess Daddy was showing his son what to do if you couldn't hunt the regular way, or so I would like to believe.

Osprey - 9-12-2010 at 11:16 AM

My book show that to be a "short tailed hawk"

bajajudy - 9-13-2010 at 06:56 AM

Beautiful!
What a handsome bird

astrobaja - 9-13-2010 at 12:42 PM

hmmm Osprey, checked my Petersons and Audubon no mention of a short tailed. Now I'm not so sure its a goshawk, maybe a juvenile red tailed. It was a pretty big bird!

Osprey - 9-13-2010 at 02:23 PM

page 157 of Peterson's Birds East of the Rockies (that works too) shows the short tail in several color phases and one of them is a dead ringer for your picture. Swainson's has a little longer tail that's why I thought it might me a short tail. I'm no bird guy I just like to see them and I have a couple of books. (old ones at that)

Wiles - 9-13-2010 at 03:26 PM

Red Tail. Nice pic.

You Be the Judge

Gypsy Jan - 9-13-2010 at 03:32 PM

Short-tailed Hawk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-tailed_Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk

Color pictures of both at the links.

[Edited on 9-13-2010 by Gypsy Jan]

Wiles - 9-13-2010 at 04:12 PM

Outside the normal range for the Short-tailed hawk. Any sighting would be considered rare.

Red-tailed hawk, dark phase.

bacquito - 9-13-2010 at 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by astrobaja
hmmm Osprey, checked my Petersons and Audubon no mention of a short tailed. Now I'm not so sure its a goshawk, maybe a juvenile red tailed. It was a pretty big bird!

Regardless, a great photo!Thanks for sharing

Osprey - 9-13-2010 at 04:40 PM

Red tailed hawks have yellow bills. The picture shows a brown/gray bill. ????

Wiles - 9-13-2010 at 05:29 PM

Yes, Red-tails can have partial yellow beaks, but mainly gray/brown. They have yellow legs for sure. The cool thing about Red-tails is their diversity in appearance. They exhibit many different color phases.

Thanks again astrobaja. It's always fun to pull out and dust off the old bird book.

Hawk?

tehag - 9-13-2010 at 05:48 PM

Redtail undertail shows some banding, lots in juveniles, only one or two in adults. This bird's tail looks completely unbanded. Also, while the cere of a redtail may be yellow, the actual bill is charcoal to black. Redtail's feet and legs are yellow, this bird's feet look gray, could just be the light. I don't think Astro's bird is a redtail, but they are very diverse.

Wiles - 9-13-2010 at 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tehag
Redtail undertail shows some banding, lots in juveniles, only one or two in adults. This bird's tail looks completely unbanded. Also, while the cere of a redtail may be yellow, the actual bill is charcoal to black. Redtail's feet and legs are yellow, this bird's feet look gray, could just be the light. I don't think Astro's bird is a redtail, but they are very diverse.

Based on size of bird, breast band, short rounded tail with banding on outer edges of tail feathers and range, I am sticking to my call. Red-tail. Although I will retract the dark phase portion.

So Tehag, if not redtail, what's your call?

Thanks

astrobaja - 9-14-2010 at 07:46 AM

It seems with all the variation in colouration makes for difficult id'ing! I know using the field guides made it seem clear as mud!
I got an e-mail from one of the grad students up at the condor station, he seems to think its a young red tailed hawk too, but says hes not the expert so hes going to ask Juan who has decades of experience.
They also saw a young bald eagle flying with one of the condors a few days ago, as far as I know no bald eagle has ever been seen in this area.
That must have been quite a sight to see!

astrobaja - 9-14-2010 at 12:32 PM

Just had 3 visitors slightly larger than the hawk

No.62 swooped down right over our house circled a few times and headed west with his/her buddies. The colour of the head indicates a fully mature bird.

no62-2sm.jpg - 16kB

AmoPescar - 9-15-2010 at 11:37 PM

I AGREE WITH WILES...

probably a RED-TAILED HAWK. It's well out of the normal range of the Short-tailed hawk.

As Wiles stated, There are many forms and variations in color, banding, etc. of the Red-tail. See the web site below for great pics.

Here's a great web site for bird information from Cornell University...
http://www.allaboutbirds.org

lots of great pics, range maps and info, etc.

Miguelamo

irenemm - 9-16-2010 at 01:18 AM

wow that is just awesome
can not wait to get up there and enjoy all the beauty in the sky and on the hills.
so how soon until that b&b is opened?
be an awesome time away from home.
the birds are really beautiful.
thanks for sharing with all of us.

oladulce - 9-16-2010 at 07:27 AM

What if all birds had a clearly visible number like #62 which told you what page of your bird book to look on to ID them?

bajamigo - 9-16-2010 at 08:01 AM

It would be a little tough on the hummingbirds.

elgatoloco - 9-16-2010 at 10:35 AM

Great pics. The shot of the Condor reminds of the time we camped and hiked for four days up in SPDM park. The whole time I was hoping to check the species off my life list and was supremely disappointed at never seeing one as I had heard that they were frequently spotted. The next week when we returned home I saw an article in the local paper about how they had just re-released the birds after having caught them for study and to update tracking devices. We did not see em cuz they weren't there.

Have to get back up there soon!

durrelllrobert - 9-16-2010 at 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by astrobaja
The number of ranchers here are pretty low which means not so many birds get shot, it seems unfortunately the rancher mentality here is about the same as it was back in Canada

[Edited on 9-14-2010 by astrobaja]

short tail or red tail, they both taste just like spotted owls to the ranchers :lol:

astrobaja - 9-16-2010 at 11:35 PM

Wiles got it right, just talked to the head of the condor project he said the pic is red tailed hawk, adult dark phase

DianaT - 9-17-2010 at 09:33 AM

Nice and glad the ID was made. You are in a beautiful spot and these birds just make it better!