Idaho Raptors (1 Viewer)

[mallard26]

Lately I've second-guessed everything I had assumed about the raptors around here, and I wanted to double check a couple with you more knowledgeable folks!

http://community.webshots.com/photo/180903462/178876811OclwzO

and

http://community.webshots.com/photo/180903462/178876977WQwuPt
(isn't it cuddly?)

Thanks, you guys are awesome.
Jackie

 

[Dave S]

I'm definately not an expert.. but I'll give it a passing shot:

The first picture appears to be a young bald eagle (2nd year). The bill is much too large to be a red-tail's. Though... looking at it a bit more I have to say it's a toss up. The body coloring looks very much like a young red-tail... but that bill just doesn't look right for a red-tail.

The second picture appears to be a Peregrine Falcon. This one I'm not at all sure on, since I don't have any good info on what they look like young. But the face and beak really look like a Peregrine, and I know there's quite a few of them in Idaho.

 

[Katy Penland]

The first bird I would think is a red-tail despite what looks like an extraordinarily large beak which I think is due to the way it's shot, angle and light. Nothing else about this bird is right for imm baldy, IMO: banded tail (bald has a single terminal band), faint belly band, overall coloration (too light and rufous streaking vs. mottled deep brown of bald) and its relative size compared to the power line insulators. An eagle would dwarf these. I could always be wrong, however!

The second bird is an adult light-morph Swainson's hawk, no question on that one.

 

[prairiemerlin]

Number one is a Red-tailed Hawk, and I think the second is a Swainson's Hawk. I don't know my western raptors too well.

 

[mallard26]

OK great, thanks. Glad I got the Swainson's right, this is my first time encountering them They're all gone now, that was taken in August.

The red-tail really threw me off because it was just REALLY BIG. At first I thought it was some kind of weird Golden Eagle, but red-tail would really make more sense. Really large bill on that one though.

 

[mallard26]

I would have had to rule out a peregrine, just because of the size of the bird. It's not easy to tell in the picture, but it was definitely too large to be a falcon, I think.

 

[W.coast Raptor]

nice shots!

 

[W.coast Raptor]

Number one is a Red-tailed Hawk, and I think the second is a Swainson's Hawk. I don't know my western raptors too well.

You’re dead on. Good job.

Everything about the first buteo says RTH, belly band, the picture of the bill is deceiving cuz you can’t really tell the top of the bill from bottom. Was there white in those primaries? Partial albino?

The swainie is a dead giveaway too, dark sides (primaries/secondary), dark chest patch with horizontal belly streaking, white feathers near cere, white throat, dark head, upper mandible yellow to black. Typical swainie posture.



Both birds bring the classic buteo form.