atxrvabyrd 19 Posted January 21 This was from August, 2013. A bird that's bugged me for a while. I have a guess, but it would be my only sighting of one ever--and that before I'd begun seriously birding. So, I'm going to just leave it at that. Have at it. 2013-08-06 11.28.16 2013-08-06 11.41.05 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Melierax 611 Posted January 21 Ferruginous Hawk. Beautiful! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jerry Friedman 274 Posted January 21 (edited) Nice shots! I'd say your guess is right—feathered legs, no white scapulars, nondescript tail. A juvenile red-tail would have many narrow, distinct white [edit: dark!] bands. Maybe the gape is a little short and the head is a little brown, but I haven't seen many of these guys and don't understand their variation. (Uh-oh, better see what Melierax said.) Edited January 21 by Jerry Friedman 2 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Melierax 611 Posted January 21 (edited) I agree with those ID points. Very light colored head is a good mark as well. Back is a softer gray with white spots localized on the wings. Stance, behavior, and wing length are also good things to look at. Edited January 21 by Melierax 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atxrvabyrd 19 Posted January 22 Awesome. Thanks so much, everyone--both for the ID and for enumerating the field marks. Ferruginous was in fact what I was thinking/hoping for. It was just hanging by the roadside along the main road of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NRW. Not what we would have expected for a hawk like this. Great place. Saw our first Burrowing Owls there, too. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
