smittyone@cox.net Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Seen this afternoon circling with 3 other hawks outside DeSoto NWR, southwest of Missouri Valley, Iowa. Didn't notice if the other 3 were the same as I concentrated on this bird--the closest one. Whatever it is, it's definitely unlike any other hawk I've ever seen here in the midwest. The last image is the closest I have to a topside shot. All my other pics are font or underside as it circled and got blown farther away. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Adult Swainson's 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 The brown "hood" and two-toned pointed wings are good clues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittyone@cox.net Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 Thanks folks. Now that I know what it is, I reviewed my archives and determined I have seen one, only ONCE before almost exactly 10 years ago! The difference was that bird had medium brown where this bird had white. Could that one have been an immature bird? Or are there dark and light morphs? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 (edited) There are indeed a range of color morphs. The first bird is an adult light morph and the second bird is an adult intermediate morph. Edited April 8, 2020 by akandula 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittyone@cox.net Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 1 minute ago, akandula said: There are indeed light and dark morphs. The first bird is an adult light morph and the second bird is an adult dark morph. Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 1 minute ago, smittyone@cox.net said: Thanks so much! Sorry, I just edited my comment. In Swainson's there are no two distinct morphs, but rather a range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Agree with all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Nice pictures @smittyone@cox.net! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Great photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 11 hours ago, Tony Leukering said: Adult Swainson's 2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said: Great photos. Agree with both! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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