On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
On the Road submissions wanted for Peace Corps week, a Mr. Frog week, and First Timer’s Week, and of course all other submissions are appreciated as well!
This week we have birbs with Albatrossity, take a wonderful walk in the park with BretH, BillinGlendaleCA brings us glaciers (!) not skies, Munira takes us through a winter wonderland, and we finish off the week with some stunning images from Wag.
Albatrossity
Most of the hawks seen in this country are Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), and indeed, when people send me pictures of hawks that they would like me to ID, most of them are that species. In fact, one of the first things any birder in the US hears, when learning to ID hawks, is “It’s always a redtail”.
But that is not always true, we do have lots of different hawks, and this week we will showcase those and talk a bit about how to ID them. None of them are as common, or have plumages as variable, as the Red-tailed Hawk. But it’s worth getting to know them so that you can sometimes say “Hey, that’s not a redtail!”
I’ve chosen the following images to show as many of the relevant field marks as possible, but in most cases, there will be one or more that you can’t see in the picture. Additionally, a lot of the ID clues for these birds involve habitat preferences and behaviors. So don’t just look at pictures. Get out there and look at some birds!
First up is the Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus). This is a circumpolar species, and is known in Europe as the Rough-legged Buzzard. Roughly the same size as a redtail, and with both a dark and light morph, they are often confused with their more common congeneric. But they are relatively longer-winged, with more petite bill and talons, with a white base to the tail, and they all have that nice dark patch at the bend of the wing (carpal patch). As you can see here, they tend to sit out on the very tips of skinny branches. If you get a good close look, you can see the eponymous rough leggings; they have feathers on the entire tarsus, all the way to the start of the toes. They are also highly migratory; for more information on that, click here.
A common species in the wooded east, but only a recent arrival here in my part of Flyover Country, the Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) is smaller and slimmer than a redtail. Denizens of wooded streamsides, they feed primarily on lizards, snakes and frogs. Banded tail, large head, and only 4 “fingers” (redtails have 5) on the end of the wing of this adult bird help you ID this one.
Another recent arrival to this patch of Flyover County, the Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) is also familiar to both east coast and west coast birders. Adult birds like this one have the eponymous red shoulders (actually elbows), a banded tail, checkerboard pattern on the upper wings, and a quick stiff wing beat pattern that is quite different from that of a redtail.
Moving on from the buteos to some more acrobatic flyers brings us to the falcons. Long pointy wings and rapid flight distinguish these birds from the slower dumpier buteos. The smallest of these is American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), which is very familiar to all birders in not just North America, but in Central and South America as well. One of the few raptors in which the sexes have different plumages (this colorful one is the male), they are not apt to be confused with any of the birds above. But it could be confused with one of the other falcons below, so take a good look at it. And when you see one in the field, notice how it wags its tail upon landing, a behavior that the other falcons do not seem to have.
A slightly larger falcon, the Merlin (Falco columbarius) is not as colorful, but what it lacks in style it makes up for in attitude. These are swaggerers, to anthropomorphize just a bit, who will take passes at lots of birds, both bigger and smaller than themselves. They also have a stockier build and are more barrel-chested than kestrels, with a steady direct flight (kestrels tend to wander a bit). That dark tail with several narrow white bands is also a good field mark.
Flyover Country in winter is a good place to see a Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus), solitary birds of open country and relatively rare east of the Great Plains. Flocks of Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs provide plenty of food for these guys here. More broad-shouldered than Kestrels or Merlins, their sand colored uppersides are set off by underside spots. The best field mark is seen well in this image, the “dirty armpits” that distinguish this species from any other North American falcon.
Now we come to a couple of birds that give birders fits when it comes to ID, the accipiters. Identification is made more difficult by the brevity of the view; a typical sighting of one of these is a bird barreling past you at Mach2 or thereabouts. With wings that are shorter and broader than those of any of the birds above, they frequent woodlots and hunt other birds (at your feeders, often) almost exclusively. This is an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), the smallest accipiter on the continent. Relative to the Cooper’s Hawk below, they are round-headed, skinny-legged, bug-eyed and barrel-chested. But the two best field marks are seen in this picture. The dark crown coloration extends down the back of the neck like a hoodie, and the tail feathers at rest do not line up evenly (graduated tail feathers). If you can get a good look at one, they are easy to ID. Good luck!
The next size up in the accipiter class is the Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). This adult shows lots of the relevant field marks. Body shape is more tubular, head is blocky (not round), and the crown color does not extend onto the neck (like a baseball cap instead of a hoodie). Note also the fatter legs and position of the eye near the front of the head; Sharp-shinned Hawks will have the eye more centrally located on the side of the head.
Finally, here is a bird that is not a buteo, falcon, or accipiter, but is pretty common across the continent. Northern Harriers (Circus hudsonius) tirelessly patrol open country, and are rarely seen perched. Field marks include long wings and long tail, and the white patch on the rump. Adult birds come in different colors depending on the sex of the bird (males are gray, females are brown), but this buffy-bellied bird is a youngster, so it looks a lot like the females.
evodevo
Thanks for this! Here in KY I usually just get a brief glimpse before the bird takes off through the trees or skyward. I can usually tell the buteos apart, but the accipiters are confusing to me, and they won’t hold still long enough for me to recall the identifying marks…I think I have been seeing a sharp-shinned. I DO know we have had a kestrel or two around here, because one dropped out of nowhere and scored a junco at my bird feeder the other day…
Rachel Bakes
Thank you! I work at a nature center, when there are field trips, and until a couple years ago was unaware of the red shouldered hawk. A colleague kept pointing them out but my view was never clear enough to differentiate.
Rob
Excellent photos, Albatrossity.
Here in my suburban DC neighborhood, the pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in the nearby park are already (re)building their nest. A Red-tailed Hawk occasionally flies over, a resident Cooper’s Hawk sometimes zooms through, and a wintering Merlin appears every once in a while. A couple times a year I see a Peregrine Falcon hunting pigeons over the nearby business district.
JR
We are blessed with a lot of red tails around here, and one peregrine falcon.
raven
Damn!
Scuffletuffle
Your photographs are stunning, as beautiful as the birds themselves!!
OzarkHillbilly
It must be Monday. :-)
Wag
Albatrossity Monday is always amazing and educational, especially today. I had a field biology class in college, and I remember field trips with our professor at the wheel of the bus and swerving around the Great Plains east of Colorado Springs as she pointed out the raptors. I especially loved the Kestrels, with their perch on wire fences and telephone wires, if I recall correctly.
Spanky
Ah yes! We have Harriers patrolling over the marsh and corn fields constantly.
I was at Hawk Mountain once and a visitor asked one of the counters about the “shark-skinned hawks”. The reply was very diplomatic, as I remember.
Betty Cracker
Lovely photos and helpful commentary — thanks!
Leto
Amazing photo’s, as always. I found these two video’s of a hawk, and a falcon, stabilizing their heads in the wind as they hover searching for prey. Seeing this is in slow motion is pretty dang amazing!
mvr
This is just what I need to help me with my inability to tell most raptors apart. Did see a Northern Harrier from a distance yesterday which I think I identified even from a distance by its pattern of flight and body shape. Too far a way for me to see the white patch which is normally what tells me that it is one of these. (Or I saw something else and was wrong about what I saw.)
Am I right that when these stop flying they are often on the ground rather than perched? That would fit with your comment about not seeing them perched.
Thanks! This is really helpful.
Albatrossity
@mvr: yes, if you see them not in flight they will often be sitting on the ground. They don’t seem to like higher perches much.
JanieM
So much to learn! Thanks as always for the gorgeous pictures.
Chat Noir
That Prairie Falcon picture looks like it could be a logo for some air entity! I love these Monday morning birb ID lessons. Your pictures are always stunning and the commentary is very helpful.
WaterGirl
Your American Kestrel looks like s/he is hand-painted!
That’s what I used to say about my Bailey. When people asked what kind of dog he was I would answer “He’s a black & white!”
So adorable when he was little, one of his tiny little testicles was white, the other one was black. I used to say that he was hand-painted by god.
Yutsano
When I was in college there were two sciences that tempted me to change from a major in music. One was microbiology. The other was when I was a freshman at Boise State University and they were the only school at that time that specialised in raptor biology. I still love every raptor out there, but you REALLY bring out their beauty!
MelissaM
Apropos, we just had something land on the gate outside our kitchen window. Initially thought younger Cooper’s hawk, but now I’ll have to look over your IDs and see what I can tell.
Very exciting morning!
opiejeanne
Even though I usually don’t comment on your photos, I want you to know how much I enjoy them.
Here we see bald eagles and sometimes red tails, and at night we hear owls. One afternoon I witnessed a bald eagle being chased by a very angry owl, so low above our garden that they passed only a couple of feet above mr opiejeanne’s head. Usually it’s just crows harassing them at a distance, so this was special.
TEL
Absolutely amazing photos! My mom’s a birder and is good at identifying birds. She had a pair of Cooper’s hawks that would nest and raise young every spring in the tree outside her apartment that she loved to watch. Her local birder society had names for them and kept track of them as much as they could.
J R in WV
I always love Monday morning OtR when Albatrossity has another chapter on mid-continent birbs. Today is especially good being mostly birbs of prey! Living in the wooded hillsides of the Appalachian foothills, we see lots of hawks, buzzards, eagles and hear owls most evenings when the weather doesn’t suck.
These are great hawk photos, and remind me of the great in-person sightings we have made both here locally and as we travel around the nation and the tiny portion of the rest of the world we have seen so far. Some of the smaller hawks are the most amazing to see.
Thanks for sharing with us. I always share these posts with my birder friends, they love this work.
Mark von Wisco
Beautiful photos as always. We are are very blessed here in Central Wisconsin with a diverse population of raptors. I live near the Wisconsin River, and also several wildlife preserves. Redtail hawks are by far the most common, but I also see a fair number of the following: Cooper’s hawks, Northern Harriers, sparrow hawks, and some sort of falcon that I have yet to definitively ID. In addition, there are 3-4 bald eagle nesting sites. Also, on one of my bike training routes there are two nesting platforms on power poles that are occupied by ospreys.
I’m in my late 50s, and things have really changed for the better since I was a kid. The combination of the Clean Water Act and the DDT ban have made a huge difference. It used to be extremely rare to see a raptor of any kind. Now raptors of all sizes are common. I’ve had bald eagles in my backyard. And when the rabbit population is high, I see redtail hawks everywhere.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
When I first started birding, I was told “a Merlin flies with purpose” and I see you agree. :-) Many thanks for the great photos and discussion of field marks. Love those raptors!