by Riverwalk Birding Club
posted July 25, 2007
This week's Chatt-A-Birdin' is all about Hawks. Many can remember a few short years ago there was only one kind of Hawk and that was a "Chickin' Hawk". Now as fall approaches we birders start think about going Hawkin', to see how many beautiful Hawks we can locate.
Some, like Charles and Dreama Dean, spend hours looking for Hawk nests to photograph. Others like Ken Dubke just like to know where all the Hawk nest are and he keeps a list from all the phone calls he gets reporting, "I have a Hawk nest in my yard."
When the Hawks start migrating south each year many birders start camping out on the high places along the migratory routes to count all the different species, such as Buteos, Accipiters, Kites, Harriers, plus Eagles, Osprey, and Falcons. Yes, there's many more now than just "Chickin' Hawks". Jimmy Wilkerson, Bill Haley and several others will spend hours on Soddy Mountain soon counting hundreds of Hawks that have already been counted. You may wonder why, so Jimmy explains how Hawkin' can get in your blood. Did you ever notice that most Hawk photos show the Hawk watching you?
Raptor identification tips I use on the lookout.
By Jimmy Wilkerson
These tips can be readily used to identify raptors seen in the Chattanooga area. They refer to the Hawks (Buteo or Accipiter family), Osprey, Eagles, Falcons and Vultures commonly seen east of the Mississippi river in the southeastern States. These guidelines also refer to raptors in flight, specifically. In some cases they could also be used to identify perched raptors but only in general context.
I will start with the hawk with which I have the least experience and the one, which still gives me trouble. Even after seeing several in the same day and sometimes only minutes apart, I still have the most difficulty identifying a NORTHERN HARRIER. In fact, this would be one hawk I would more quickly identify perched, as opposed to flying, than any other hawk I know. Neither would I have any trouble with its identity if it were coursing low over a field in hunting posture. However, on a hawk watch this bird is doing neither of the above. It, to me, resembles a very large accipiter, an accipiter on steroids, if you will, one with a definitively longer tail, bigger body and a large patch of white at the beginning of its tail, which is clearly visible from the upper side. Sharpies, Cooper's and Red-tails all have white patches in the same locations of their tails but not quite as large as the Northern Harrier’s. When seen “close in” try and remember the male is gray on the upper side and light on the underside while the female is the same coloration as most other hawks on her upper side, and similar to other buteos on her under sides, in other words, they look diametrically opposites. All Harriers if seen at close range, regardless of sex or age will have a distinctive facial disk that is somewhat similar in comparison to an Owl. With the exception of a visibly close in male, I go into spazz mode, forget everything I should know about this hawk and try to make it anything but what should be obvious!
BROAD WINGED HAWK (Buteo family) in season is exceptionally easy to identify. Adults especially! Look for a small medium sized hawk with a dark head, forward swept paring knife shaped wings, rufous breast, dark outlined wings and a distinctive larger stripped black/white tail in spring and fall. It's that simple! Juveniles are all of the above except for the tail pattern. A juvie's tail will resemble other immature buteo patterns. Sometimes Broad-winged hawks seen on the hawk lookout are occasionally seen close enough to identify by age. On a good migration flight day our emotions run rampant when a “kettle” of Broadies circle overhead. The kettle can contain anywhere from the teens upwards to hundreds of birds circling up and boiling around in a thermal. At that particular time there is no way to get an accurate count. Patience and persistence pays off with the knowledge that when the birds reach the zenith of the rising thermal, they will began to peel off and you can count them one at a time unless the grouping is spread all over the sky. Many times one group of birds will fly into another group of birds making a much larger grouping. And, many times, another group will try to sneak by without getting counted because of all the oohing and aahing that is going on. These are the times when you forget how hot and sweaty you were just a few minutes ago or how tired your neck and shoulders are from constantly scanning the skies for migrants! These are also the easy birds to count, the ones close in and overhead. The majority of Broad-winged hawks seen are just specks and a new visitor will probably think we are making up more than half the birds we record. That’s a fact! In late September as the migrant numbers diminish to single birds, I sometimes have trouble telling a Broad-wing from a Sharp-shinned when at a distance and in glide mode. Broad-winged hawks are not in our area from mid October until mid spring. They have migrated to South America. If you are in the vicinity of the Florida Keys it is possible but not probable you could see a Broad-wing in the winter.
RED-TAILED HAWK and RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (Buteo families): A Red-tailed Hawk is our most common buteo.
Their wings are fairly broad and appear rounded. If you happen to see the tail, first, of an adult Red-tailed hawk then you don't have to wonder how it got it's name. The tail color is Key #1. This is also a definite plus for identifying a Red-tail while still a mile away. As it soars in the distance, sooner or later, it will turn just right in the sun and you get a brilliant flash of orange from its tail. Distant Red-tails appears light underneath whereas a Red-shouldered will appear rufous on its breast. Closer in an eastern Red-tail will always have a belly band. That's Key # 2. The belly band can be faint or bold but it's always there! It's head will usually be three quarters dark. And, like the belly band, it can be either faint or dark. Key # 3 is to look for the dark patagium marks (an elastic membrane) on the front edge of the inner wing. If you are looking at either the upper or underside of a RT it is easy to locate the dark patagial markings on the forward wings on either side of the neck. No other hawk in our area has these dark patagials. For identification of an immature eastern RT I first decide if it’s in the buteo family, then I look for a closely banded tail, belly bands and then for the dark potagials. A hawk in flight that appears to hover (kiting) in our area will usually be a Red-tailed hawk.
For adult Red-shouldered hawks I always look for a dark sort of chocolate colored head with bold rufous coloration on the upper under wings and belly with lighter dark/white barring on the hind wing. Also, seen at a distance, the sun will allow a white comma to filter through near the upper outer parts of each wing. RS hawks also have a white tip on their tails followed inward by a much larger dark band with another thin white band. In identifying an immature RS I look for wings that are almost the same pattern overall as the wings of an adult, however, they will appear washed out and not as distinct in coloration. There will be very little if any dark rufous color on the breast, it's almost always light and dark speckled. The head is also chocolate colored. The three common buteos seen in our area also have a distinct voice call. If you are familiar with the sound they make you can identify them without ever having to look at a single field mark! Both RT and RS hawks are seen year round.
Buteos as a whole can be seen in a glide, heavy or light flapping, flying lazy graceful arching circles and in a steep diving stoop. All of these behaviors make for a challenging I.D. until your eye is trained for what to look for. Almost always a buteo with its feet dangling while making those lazy circles or in a steep dive will be a Red-tailed hawk.
SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and COOPER’S HAWKS (Accipiter families). The hawk silhouette of the accipiter family is readily different in shape and size from the family of buteos observed. Yet, accipiters are, as a whole, hard to separate as a family identity for the inexperienced birder. From my prospective, some of the things I notice that make a big difference is: when seen they tend to flap, flap glide rather than soar. Both species do have a different cadence to their respective flap, flap glide. They will appear to soar if in a thermal while trying to gain altitude. It is generally accepted that a Sharp-shinned hawk has a squared off tail while a Cooper’s has a more rounded tail. Tail shape is not always definitive though. Cooper’s usually have a broader band of white on the outer tail feathers. Both hawks have a longish tail but the Cooper’s is the longest. Cooper’s are generally accepted as the larger of the two hawks; however, a large female Sharp-shinned is almost always similar in size to a male Cooper’s. A Cooper’s hawk’s head will appear larger and will extend farther from the body than a Sharp-shinned hawks head. Both species usually migrate singularly but are occasionally spotted in a group of two, one closely following the other. On rare occasions we spot up to three at a time. Accipiters will require a bit of patience in developing the skills necessary to properly distinguish between the two species. The best advice I can give is to take the time necessary to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the field marks I have stated here and the one’s presented in a good field guide. Accipiters too are seen in our area year round.
Eagles: There is probably nothing more identifiable to the general public than an adult BALD EAGLE. Who would disagree with the identity of a rather large bird with a white head and a white tail as that of a Bald Eagle? Well, sometimes people confuse an OSPREY with a Bald Eagle. Many people can identify an Osprey as easily as I can. But, can they identify it from a mile away and always be right? Just look for the silhouette of a large bird with "M" shaped wings that are the narrowest set of wings you've ever seen and it will be an Osprey. In a glide when the "M" shaped wings are most prevalent is the easiest time for a positive identification. If it is soaring you can still make a proper I.D. by its skinny wing shape even if it is in a tucked posture. There is no other bird seen in our area that has such l-o-o-ong skinny wings? None! Lets get back to Eagles. We all agree that an adult Bald Eagle is easy to identify if seen close enough. What I look for while it's still a speck is its size. It will always be bigger than any hawk we see. With its wings stretched out flat as a board it can soar or glide for miles and never flap a single time! Lately we have begun to try and age our immature Bald Eagles. With practice this is becoming less of a chore than it used to be. Almost all second, third and forth year birds have varying degrees of white streaking and this makes good practice for the occasional GOLDEN EAGLE we see. An immature Golden is the easiest of the Golden Eagle family to identify. It has a white tail with a huge outer dark tail band and it will have a patch of white on each wing. Some Golden Eagle sub-adults will have narrow markings of white through the center of the wing from the breast to the outer white patch. As my skills have improved, I have learned that some Golden Eagles will have splotchy coloration very similar to an immature Bald Eagle. The adult Golden Eagles I have seen all had tawny golden colored hackles on the head and the rest of its body has been very dark brown. In the Chattanooga area, Golden Eagles are seldom seen! I would like to caution you to be very careful in your declaration of a Golden Eagle sighting.
Bald Eagles, because of their marvelous come back from near extinction in the 1960’s, as a result of banning of the wide spread usage of the pesticide DDT, are now fairly common sightings in the Chattanooga area, if you know where to look for them! I guess we humans can get some things right when we try hard enough.
Vultures: BLACK VULTURE is as Black as any raptor you will ever encounter on the hawk watch. It has a unique flap like no other bird. Its tail is the shortest of any other bird and it's the only bird with distinctive white wing tips. You can't miss on the I.D. of this bird. TURKEY VULTURE: Key #1 in our area there is only one other hawk type bird with a dihedral and that is a Northern Harrier. But, the NH's dihedral is puny compared to a Turkey Vulture. A dihedral is the way a bird holds its wings in an upward angle over its head. Key #2 Watch a Turkey Vulture long enough and it will wobble or rock in the air. Key #3 if you watch long enough it will also flap its wings when soaring. Sometimes it appears to me as if the wing flap is so deep that the wings touch on the lowest downward thrust. Many a Red-tail identities, while still more than a mile away, have been thwarted by a Turkey Vulture that just made their deep flap!
Falcons: In our area we have 3 types. AMERICAN KESTREL: A small falcon with two black facial stripes. A male has dark gunmetal blue wings, rufous tail with a dark large black tail band with white tips that are seen occasionally. In flight from the under wing its deceptively hard to distinguish between an adult male and an early immature male! Females, from a distance appear rufous/brown on the upper wings and evenly patched rufous with dark barring underneath. The tail is almost always rufous brown with black barring. In the fall an immature female is similar to an adult female. A Kestrel will flap or glide almost always at eye level or only slightly above eye level and can also be seen occasionally below eye level. The female also has two black facial stripes that can be easily seen with the naked eye as they pass by.
MERLIN: A small dark falcon, with an attitude, can almost always be identified as a Merlin! If it has a powerful flap, then glides for a small distance then repeats the process of flap, glide from the time you see it until it is out of sight, you've just seen a Merlin. Merlins are almost always at or below eye level when we get to see them.
PEREGRINE FALCON: Our largest falcon! It also has a unique flap/pump motion to its wing cadence. It is very distinctive with its larger pointed falcon shaped wings. The head is always a give away. It is hard to miss its dark color and mustache pattern visible on the head. Peregrine Falcons can be either light or rufous-breasted birds. Until the 2005 season, when one flew through and then circled for several minutes, I always thought Peregrine Falcons seemed as if they were in to big a hurry to get somewhere. They are always a welcomed visitor up on the mountain and generally tend to create lots of excitement!
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