I thought Swainson’s Hawk but others disagreed. What is this?
Posted Aug 17, 2023, 2:43 PM UTC
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Juvenile +Swainson's Hawk+ is exactly right! This bird doesn't have the clear upper breast of the typical Red-tailed juvenile, the colors are off (tan and slaty grayish vs paler white/peach and warmer brown), the wing marking is different (Red-tailed usually has brighter white mottling confined to the median coverts and scapulars).
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Sweet, sweet validation. Thank you!
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You're welcome! Obviously even folks with experience can be wrong (hell, I get IDs wrong on this sub from time to time) so no harm in asking around for extra opinions.
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Added taxa: Swainson's Hawk
Reviewed by: tinylongwing
^(I catalog submissions to this subreddit.) ^(Recent uncatalogued submissions)^( | )^(Learn to use me)
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100% a juvenile Swainson’s hawk.
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You can tell them they are wrong. I got a very similar photo of one a while back. I originally thought it was a red shouldered until I zoomed in with the camera. Had to have some friends help with the ID and came up with a juvenile Swainson's.
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“Remember a couple weeks back when you said that bird was a red-tailed hawk? Well, it’s been in the back of my mind since then. Anyway, do you know what Reddit is?”
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I know FB is highly frowned upon here on reddit but there's a great group I belong to called Raptor ID. I have learned so much from that page. If you're on FB I'd suggest joining.
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Mike
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I thought you said Swanson hawk.. I was curious if it's waiting for the microwave to fish..
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In awe of this bird. Absolute unit.
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I thought the white patch on the throat was a good indicator of a Swainson’s hawk. Someone more experienced than me says this is a RTH.
Is the mottling on the belly area enough to be a belly band? I don’t know. So here I am, consulting the minds of reddit.