Saturday, July 24, 2010

Work-birding!

I saw some great birds during my workday on Thursday! It may be hot and humid outside, which makes my days pretty rough, but at least I get to "work-bird" as I walk around neighborhoods set in the heavily wooded country of Central PA.

Here was the highlight:

I heard this Red-tailed Hawk crying in some pines behind the neighborhood I was walking, so I pulled over and went looking for him. Turned out, there were two -- calling to one another, and perhaps screaming at me for invading their turf. More than once, this guy looked down at me and screamed, so I took some quick picks, giggled with glee, and got out of there.

Also present were Black-capped Chickadees, Gray Catbirds, American Goldfinches, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and Tufted Titmice. It was a nice little break from work.

Notice the light reddish-brown coloring of this RTHA (I don't think my photos captured just how light this bird's coloring was). At first I wondered if it was a juvenile Northern Harrier; it was that lightly rufous-colored. However, the bird's call and markings were distinctly those of a RTHA--the belly band, the "backpack" (which I noted when the second hawk flew away), the screaming associated with Bald Eagles in movies and on TV! A juvie NOHA would've had a solid rufous breast and the white rump-patch. Still, I haven't seen a RTHA this color around here; I always see the normal dark-brown color. In my field guide, the rufous morph is more of a Western race, yet here is this guy.

Is my ID of RTHA wrong?

P.S.--I know I had some photos and a post of a normal-colored RTHA on my blog once; I just can't find them! This is the only one I found for comparison:

9 comments:

  1. Hi! Your bird looks like a RT to me, just as you suspect. Some of them can be really pale. I love looking for birds on my way to and from work, too--it just makes the day better!

    (Also, the word verification I just got is "alloduck"--how weirdly appropriate is that?)

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  2. Felicia--perfect! Bring on alloducks!

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  3. No, your ID of the red-tailed hawk isn't wrong. That species has a lot of variation, even within the eastern populations.

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  4. John, I'm glad I'm right -- I knew there was variation, but this guy was pale!

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  5. Whatever it is, it's a great picture. We have lots of the Red Tails here, so many that I just know them when I see or hear them, but I don't know for sure what one actually looks like - to id it!!!

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  6. I've seen a lot of variation even within the Bay area. This first one has a darker chest: http://www.avianexplorer.com/2009/08/red-tailed-hawk/
    and this second one has a very light chest
    http://www.avianexplorer.com/2009/11/red-tailed-hawk-2/

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  7. Rabbits' Guy--thanks! The good thing about Red-tails out here is that there are soooooo many of them. You can almost bet if you see a hawk soaring, it's probably a Red-tail. Plus that dark belly-band is a good giveaway, as is the darker "backpack" marking on the middle of the back. And of course the red tail!

    Elizabeth--WOW. Those are great pics! You must have a great zoom/lens on your camera! It's like you're right under the bird!

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  8. Anonymous10:23 AM

    Work birding is pretty awesome...even the usual suspects seem extra special when you're seeing them on work time! Oh, and I wouldn't *totally* rule out a buzz cut in the future...round heads look good with short hair. It's the lumpy heads that sometimes stand out. :)

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  9. Birds Fly-Thanks for visiting the bloggy! And I'll keep that in mind... not sure how my girlfriend would react, though.

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