calliwa Loc: Avon, IN

My wife and I left town to eat breakfast at an adjoining town and came across a hawk sitting on a fence post near a highway intersection. We pulled over to admire it. My wife said lets go home and get your camera, I said it would never be here when we got back from the 15 minute round trip. We watched it for about 3-4 minutes and it flew off. We crossed the intersection to head to the restaurant ant found two more of these birds feeding in the grass. I thought maybe they would still be here and went back for my camera; lo and behold they were still there. I find that around here, mostly red-tailed hawks, are quite skittish and won't let you get close enough to get a good photo. These guys (gals?) were quite willing to pose and perform. Did not even have to get out of the car.

Foraging on the ground


Bird on a wire (Minor Cropping)

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Another view on the wire

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Joe F.N. Loc: Oshawa, Ontario

These are very good shots but I think your hawk is a Red-Tailed Hawk.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Very beautiful!

My birder friend will drive miles out of her way to u-turn on the interstate, with hopes a bird will still be there for a photo op :)

Animal1937 Loc: NW Connecticut

Good shots.

calliwa Loc: Avon, IN

Joe: Thanks for the comments about the photos as well as the ID of the bird. I am not a bird expert by any means and just know when I get a chance for something new an different I want to try to get a good photo of it. I did, in this case, ask for help with the ID from our local Audubon Society chapter and got the following response:
"Bill,
I think that you have a juvenile Rough-legged Hawk. In this case, the most prominent identification feature are the feathers on the legs. In North America only the rough-legged hawk, ferruginous hawk, and golden eagle have feathers on the legs. Since the colors are not yet fully developed to correspond to the characteristic markings in the field guides, I feel that it is still a juvenile.

Thanks for sending us the questions.

Dennis ********

Webmaster for Peoria Audubon Society"

If you have a better way of determining the ID, I'd like to know - or is your determination from experience in birding?

Thanks for any insight as I would like to learn something from this.

HowardPepper Loc: Palm Coast, FL

Great series calliwa, the photos are very sharp and clear.

AJE Loc: California

Beautiful shots. My vote is rough-legged or ferruginous hawk. My avatar is a ferruginous hawk. Was lucky to get the shot, they are here only in winter for a short time.

Joe F.N. Loc: Oshawa, Ontario

Bill,

In this case I believe your friend Dennis is mistaken.
The #1 giveaway is the 'belly band.' On the RTH the band is mottled. On the RLH it's almost solid. Leg feathers are somewhat deceiving as in the RTH they can cover half of the leg and give the impression it's an RLH. There's also a distinct difference in the bill. RTH has a larger bill than the RLH. I'm attaching some images all from red tails to show how close these are to your images.
Last but not least, I've been photographing these for 50 years. This time I'm quite sure. Hope this helps.

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Sirius_one Loc: S.F. Bay Area

Great captures. :thumbup: :thumbup:

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

Excellent shots. :thumbup: :thumbup:

nanaval Loc: Cornwall

Great pictures

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Very good shots!

iDoc Loc: Knoxville,Tennessee

Beautiful images. Informative discussion. Thanks for posting.