What kind of bird is this? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

This bird was in our neighbor's tree this morning, eating it's kill. It's obviously a bird of prey, but I'm not sure exactly which kind. I have seen hawks at a golf course about 2 miles from our house, but I've never seen a bird like this before around here.

Can anyone help identify this bird?

Bird of prey

 

[John Watson]

Cool!

I can tell you its not a Redtailed Hawk, and definitely not a Bald Eagle, which I see around here.

Hope someone can id it for you.

On the birdwatch beat, this morning near our back yard we saw a flock of 200 or so Bohemian Waxwings. Awesome sight!

 

[Jim_F]

Looks like the one I saw in my yard the other day. I wasn't able to get a decent photo, though. The closest picture I could find was the Audubon Society's of a Pigeon Hawk.

 

[ChrisMatson]

Sure its not a Red Tailed Hawk?

http://www.bok.net/~tristan/photos/h...ng-pigeon.html

 

[StephenA]

It looks like some kind of falcon to me.

 

[Brandon_T]

I actually am pretty sure that is a Hawk, Red Tail I think.

Sent the picture to my mother who is pretty much a Michigan bird expert.

Brandon

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I sent the photo to a colleague who is a bird watcher, too. The other hawks I've spotted in the area were a single golden brown color, without the white breast feathers that this bird has.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

We get a lot of red tails around my house. I awoke one morning to one disemboweling a mourning dove on my deck. It flew off before I could grab my camera.

I'd vote red tailed hawk. Yours looks a little "scragly", Scott. Probably underfed from the winter.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It does look somewhat like the photo that Chris Matson posted of a redtail hawk. As you stated, Dave, it does look more scragly. The bird did have one feature that looked different from other hawks I've seen, though -- tufts of feathers above the eyes that give a "bushy eyebrow" look, similar to an owl.

I also captured the bird on videotape, but have not had the time to look at the tape yet.

 

[Jassen M. West]

I think it could be a Coopers Hawk
http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/...de/cooper.html

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Jassen, that photo of the Cooper's Hawk also looks quite similar to my photo. From the website:


We do live in the suburbs, which is why I thought any type of bird of prey sighting was unusual in our neighborhood.

 

[Jassen M. West]

Scott,

I actually was in a feathery tug of war deciding between the Coopers, Sharp Shinned, Rough Legged, and the Goshawk. My vote was for the Coopers based on spot pattern on the chest. I know there are many suggestions that it's a Red-Tailed hawk but the spot pattern on a red-tail starts lower more upper belly than high chest.

If you do ever figure out what it is exactly let us know.

-jay

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I sent the photo to a colleague who is an avid bird watcher, and he identified the bird as either a Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk -- he was leaning towards a Cooper's Hawk. He said the only way he could know for sure was to see the bird in flight -- a Sharp-shinned Hawk flies with very quick and snappy wingbeats. I never saw the bird in flight, unfortunately.

BTW, I was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week playing golf and I spotted a similar looking hawk on the golf course one day. After never seeing this type of hawk before, I've now seen two within a week in two different parts of the country. Isn't that a coincidence!

 

[andrew markworthy]

It may be the resolution of my monitor, but is the bird in the photo wearing a ring on one foot?

Sorry, no idea on what type of bird it is, but living in the UK, that's perhaps not surprising.

 

[David Brown Eyes]

I would say Swainsens Hawk. We have a nesting pair behind our house every spring/summer. They are a type of Red Tail without the red tail.

 

[ChuckSolo]

It looks like an Osprey to me.

 

[Chas_T]

It looks like a hawk to me, but I am no authority on birds of prey.

It does look there may be some form of tag on his foot, but wouldn't this be placed on the leg, rather then the claw/talon area??

 

[Jassen M. West]

the osprey is thinner and has an eye streak, and swainson's have a solid color head starting at the upper chest.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Andrew, that is actually the kill that the hawk was eating. It was some sort of small bird -- we could see feathers falling as it ate its prey. We had a great view with our binoculars. My digital camera has a 7x optical zoom, but I still had to zoom in more via software to create this larger photo of the bird, making the image a little less clear. I did use a tripod, though.