What Kind Of Hawk? CT USA (1 Viewer)

[lvn600]

I'm sure this is a tough photo to go by but can you tell what kind of hawk this is?

 

[danehower]

just by jizz I am going to call it a Red-Shouldered - but that is a shot in the dark, and I am not all that great at hawks to start with.

 

[lvn600]

I did hear what sounded like a Red-shouldered Hawk in the vicinity.

 

[steveo]

Yep

On overall impression red shouldered but do you have a larger version like 800x800? I blew it up but I did'nt mean to make it look like it was blown up. Sorry. Also those legs look like a Red shouldered. So that's wHat i'm going with.

 

[KC Foggin]

Upon lightening the photo up I could see a more solid shoulder patch so I would go with Red-shouldered as well.

 

[AlexC]

Maybe I'm just looking on an unusual monitor (a friend's Mac :-\ ), but I'm not seeing what you guys are talking about. All I'm saying is I'm not convinced with Red-shouldered (he said, hoping to spark someone to go into a more detailed analysis of the admittedly difficultly-lit photo).

EDIT: I assume we'd be talking about a juvie here, or else we'd see the adult tail pattern (even shadowed as it is). I'll note I don't see expected pale-fringed secondaries on this bird - and that area is not as shadowed. Personally? I'm thinking Red-tailed. Maybe it's just the zoomed-in, lightened pic, but do I see I bit of red that's lining the shadow on the tail?

 

[steveo]

In my initial post prior to editing I said it is hard to rule out Red tailed hawk but I stupidly edited that out.

 

[AlexC]

Okay well I assume we'd be talking about a juvie Red-shouldered here, or else we'd see the adult tail pattern (even shadowed as it is). I'll note I don't see expected pale-fringed secondaries on this bird - and that area is not as shadowed. Personally? I'm thinking Red-tailed. Maybe it's just the zoomed-in, lightened pic, but do I see I bit of red that's lining the shadow on the tail?

 

[lvn600]

It seemed pretty small to be a Red-tailed which is why I was asking about the identity.

 

[Robert / Seattle]

Assuming its a recent photo, isn't it a little late in the season for a Red-shouldered in CT? All things being equal (or equally hard to visually discern) I'd go with Red-tailed.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Assuming its a recent photo, isn't it a little late in the season for a Red-shouldered in CT? All things being equal (or equally hard to visually discern) I'd go with Red-tailed.

We often have one or two red-shoulders overwintering here in eastern PA, so I'd guess finding one in CT wouldn't be unheard of.

I don't see a significant amount of white on the back, so I lean juvie shoulder as well.

 

[The Falcon]

I agree, with Red-shouldered Hawk as well.

 

[Robert / Seattle]

We often have one or two red-shoulders overwintering here in eastern PA, so I'd guess finding one in CT wouldn't be unheard of. ...

Perhaps even more so with global warming, eh?

 

[Robert / Seattle]

... I don't see a significant amount of white on the back, so I lean juvie shoulder as well.

Yet there is enough white present to be consistent with an intermediate or dark juvenile RTH. There's no shame in uncertainty, you know.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Yet there is enough white present to be consistent with an intermediate or dark juvenile RTH. There's no shame in uncertainty, you know.

True, but I think a dark morph red tail on the east coast would be even more uncommon than a winter red-shoulder.

Still, I'd be willing to call this one a UR. :-O

 

[steveo]

True, but I think a dark morph red tail on the east coast would be even more uncommon than a winter red-shoulder.

Still, I'd be willing to call this one a UR. :-O

Dark Morph? Nobody is saying that Jeff.

 

[Microtus]

My initial impression of jizz is Red-shouldered Hawk.