smittyone@cox.net Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Seen this afternoon south of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Is this a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Red-tailed Hawk? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan B Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Light Morph Swainson's Hawk. Nice photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 (edited) Swainson's don't show belly bands. Red-tailed Hawk - probably Krider's? Not good with those subspecies. Edited December 9, 2020 by Melierax 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candydez12 Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 13 hours ago, Aidan B said: Light Morph Swainson's Hawk. Nice photo Agreed. If not that, then it is a Red - Tailed hawk 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan B Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 14 hours ago, Melierax said: Swainson's don't show belly bands. Red-tailed Hawk - probably Krider's? Not good with those subspecies. Thanks for correcting me, I took a very quick glance before posting. I agree with Red-tailed Hawk now, the date alone should have ruled out Swainson's Hawk, let alone the belly band. Crazy how much variation there is within this species. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 20 hours ago, Melierax said: Swainson's don't show belly bands. Red-tailed Hawk - probably Krider's? Not good with those subspecies. Looks like a borealis. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 37 minutes ago, Seanbirds said: Looks like a borealis. That's mostly what we get here, so I see them all the time. The head pattern doesn't look like a "normal" (borealis) red-tail to me, though I very well may be wrong. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 16 hours ago, Seanbirds said: Looks like a borealis. Agreed. What I'm curious about is why Red-shouldered would be considered, given that it does not have the dark streaking on the chest typical of juveniles, nor the red barring on the underparts typical of adults. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 6 hours ago, Tony Leukering said: Agreed. What I'm curious about is why Red-shouldered would be considered, given that it does not have the dark streaking on the chest typical of juveniles, nor the red barring on the underparts typical of adults. Plus juvs would not. Be around now which would make just a little more similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 I mean a juv red shouldered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Would be just a bit more similar to a red tailed hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) 56 minutes ago, IKLland said: Plus juvs would not. Be around now which would make just a little more similar Juvenile Red-shouldereds ARE around right now. Hawks stay in juvenile plumage for over a year, I believe. Edited December 10, 2020 by The Bird Nuts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) In my limited experience, Red-shouldereds are more likely to hang out around wet areas - swamps, marshes, beaver ponds, etc. That doesn't mean they can't be found elsewhere, or that Red-taileds aren't in those areas too. More often than not, when I see a buteo in a wet spot, it most often a Red-shouldered. Young Red-shouldereds also seem to make more noise than their Red-tailed counterparts. Just two random observations based on statistically insufficient populations. Edited December 10, 2020 by Charlie Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittyone@cox.net Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Sorry it's taken me so long to return to this thread. So the consensus is adult (Eastern) Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA), Buteo jamaicensis borealis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 12 minutes ago, smittyone@cox.net said: Sorry it's taken me so long to return to this thread. So the consensus is adult (Eastern) Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA), Buteo jamaicensis borealis? Yes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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