BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Birding Please ID this Hawk

This young hawk has been visiting my feeders and bird bath. I had to take the pic through glass with a zoom so it's not very good. He has a barred tail. I'm in OK where there are lots of redtails but I don't recognize this species.

How big? It is not really possible to tell from the photo...

We had a female red tail here at the Lake that was white(not Albino) people came from all over to take her picture. People bought the lot and cut down her tree so she moved elsewhere...

Well, he's more than 12" and with the long tail (squared off like an African grey) maybe close to 15-17". I went out to take a better picture and he'd flown to the ground and I nearly stepped on him! Looking up and should have been looking down! Off he went.

Its really tough to ID a juvenile, especially seeing as they all look an awful lot alike with out getting specifics like the style of beak, wingspan, etc. and juvies of one species can look just like the female of another.

Try asking your local university is they have an ornithology dept or if there is an audobon society in your area. Possibly they could help as well.

Wendy

Right off hand i would say you have a juvenile Sharpie.

Squared off tale and all. Coopers are a bit larger and thicker with a rounded off tale.

Juveniles typically visit yards this time of year looking for easy meals.

Ron

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This is either a female marsh hawk or a young one. The males are gray. I know because last week, I looked outside and one was on top of my white dove's cage. My two diamond doves were next to her, and all three were freakin. The hawk was trying to eat my dove. I ran outside and brought them in. Miss hawk flew about 30 feet away to the seawall and stared at my porch, waiting for me to bring the doves back out! Finally she flew back to the porch and stood there. Then she walked over to a plant, hopped on top and waited. Next she flew or hopped up to the small table with a few small plants and waited, next to my terra cotta angel! Then, she flew over to the cushions of the outside couch, next to the blooming Christmas cactus, and checked that out. Then she flew over to the firewood stack and stood there. Then she started talking. At this point I had taken 23 pictures of this whole scenario, and I had one left. She flew back to the seawall after about 10 minutes, and I went outside to take the last picture, and when I went outside she flew off. The female marsh hawk is the only hawk in all my bird books that has a chest striped like that. The bird books also stated the marsh hawk has a white rump, and hers is very white. There were three of us in my house observing this bird taking a tour of my outside covered porch. It was quite wild! If I ever figure out how to add the pictures I will be more than glad to share them. I am working on that... <img src="/images/graemlins/wall.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/computer.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

The hawk that visited my porch had a barred tail. Black stripe, brown, black stripe, brown, black stripe. I got a good look at this bird. The egg laying season is from March to July, which I think would make mine definitely a female, rather than an immature. They start flying about 30 days old. The marsh hawk is the only harrier hawk to live in North America, and they glide above the grass or marsh looking for prey. They do not fly way up like the other hawks. Last week our handyman's wife saw a pair of them sitting on top of my house, I am thinking I have a male and female. Since yours was in November, it may be a juvenile which resembles the females but have brown, reddish below. I have several bird books to reference. I also live at the beach with a marsh on two sides. The doves I have been feeding do not seem to be quite as numerous lately. And my 3 doves can no longer go outside without supervision! Do you have any water nearby, because after comparing my pix to yours, they look identical, especially the dark stripes on the chest; the other hawks have lighter stripes that are also shorter stripes. If you have any more pix, check to see if it has a white rump.