I've recently seen a bird in my far backyard that I've never seen before. No, there's no hope I can get a picture... I don't have any idea how to go about identifying it.
It's much larger than bluejays, morning doves and any other birds I've seen around here. It's got a wing spread like some hawks I've seen here, maybe 24+ inches. It sits up straightish on a branch, sort of like an owl sits, but it's been too far away and behind other branches for me to be able to describe its head. What really caught my attention initially, besides its being bigger than other birds, is the rust red feathers in its spread tail. A big, wide red band on the spread tail. The second time I saw it I noticed white bands on its spread wings. Small in comparison to the red, but definitely there even at a distance. "Brown" was what I could see when it was perched. Its flight reminded me more of the way an owl moves than a hawk, but then it was flying among the trees rather than circling in more open areas like I usually see hawks. It stayed in the heavily treed backyards rather than moving out toward the more open street side.
Does anyone have any guesses as to what this could be so I can go look for ID'ing pictures? Thanks.
A Bird ID (but no picture)
It could be an owl. Is there some specific reason that you don't think it is an owl. Barn owls or a screech owls are fairly common. Dusk or Dawn is a good time to see an owl.
some owl pics.
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?location=USA
You could also look up some of the small raptors. Sharp shinned hawk, Cooper's Hawk, American Kestral.
not,
Could be a Red Tailed Hawk.. here's a link to some photos of hawks....good luck!
http://www.frauleindi.com/raptors.htm
My friend Helen (pelletory) took this shot of a red-tailed hawk...and she lives in Southern New Jersey also.
This message was edited Dec 18, 2006 8:54 PM
This message was edited Dec 18, 2006 8:54 PM
It could be a red-tailed hawk. But the red tail hawk is large enough, that I think one would absolutely know it was a hawk when they saw it. I think if notgrnjean isnot sure if it was a hawk, then its probably one of the smaller raptors.
Sounds like a Red Tail Hawk. The smaller hawks like Coopers, Sharp Shinned and Kestrel do not have rusty red tails.
I'm not that familiar with Owls so it might be one of those. Good luck, let us know if you ID it.
Joepyeweed, I'm disappointed in my own powers of observation. The first time I saw this bird he swooped within 20 feet of me, and I was so entranced by the beautiful tail feathers that I didn't notice anything else (except that he was a lot larger than the seed eaters that are usually around). The second time it was the white wing bands, and when he perched I couldn't see his head. I could see his body position which (from the great galleries of pictures you guys referred me to) is "raptor". Ignorant as I am, if I could have seen his head I would have been able to pick "owl" or "hawkish".
I saw him midday, which is one reason I thought maybe not an owl. They way he stayed among the trees made me think "owl", though with all the leaves gone I guess the grassy back lawns here would be more like open fields which could entice a hawk.
The tail feather did look like the picture of the red tailed hawk.
I feel pretty stupid. I thought I could tell "owl" from "hawk" even if I didn't know exactly what kind. I hope I see it again. I will concentrate only on the head.
You feel stupid...
When the hawks perch up in the trees around here in the winter, they seem to "fluff up" their whiter chest feathers. My wife and I were gazing out the window one frosty morning, and we both exclaimed at about the same time, "What's that big chicken doing up there?"
VV, A chicken????? I have never seen a chicken fly that high.....yet. LOL. That is really funny. A chicken high in the tree. I will never be able to get rid of that image now!! LOL.
Well, owls are raptors, so they could easily be confused with a hawk, especially from distance in flight.
You may want to look at some American Kestral pictures too. (white bands on spread wings?)
http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/Field%20Guide/kestrel.html
And here are some more red tailed hawk pictures.
http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/Field%20Guide/redtailpictures.html
I hope you see him again.