Bird of Prey ID

[david3 0]

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I've been amazed at how close a hawk will allow me to get. If they have a good "out", they don't seem to mind me being within 8-10 ft. They are far more interested in eating than fleeing.
Of course, they have some pretty serious talons with which to defend themselves if they feel threatened.

We have a variety of hawks and quite a few bald eagles around here. The paper mill in town keeps the river from freezing over, so we end up with upwards of 25 pairs of bald eagles wintering in the area. Since the mills stopped polluting the river, the fish (and birds of prey) have come back nicely.

Yes it isn’t afraid. Eventually it gets annoyed and flies off and I’m so busy trying (unsuccessfully) to get a picture of it flying I don’t get a good look at its markings.

I have twice now seen Bald Eagles less than 10 miles from my home. Since most of my life they were something you only saw in books, on TV or at the zoo I’m pretty happy about that.

[faulk04 0]

can you post the video? I'd love to see it

[david3 0]

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can you post the video? I'd love to see it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkrNRaaZhq4

Here is a photo from when I was still in my home taken from the second floor to give an idea of the urban setting. The close ups were taken from in front of the silver Honda that is parked across the street from my house.

[faulk04 0]

bald eagles are incredible. I love having the opportunity to see one everyday and getting the chance to be close up to these fantastic animals. Here is a picture of the immature eagle I deal with http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168993_186522281369849_133141696707908_520226_7135382_n.jpg

[david3 0]

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bald eagles are incredible. I love having the opportunity to see one everyday and getting the chance to be close up to these fantastic animals. Here is a picture of the immature eagle I deal with http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168993_186522281369849_133141696707908_520226_7135382_n.jpg

Beautiful

[PiLFy 3]

It's some type of Hawk. The eyes & head shape aren't right for a Falcon.

[airdvr 210]

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Chicken hawk

You mean one of these?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2nuOneeQ5M&feature=related

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[david3 0]

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Here is a picture of the Broad-winged that I suggested earlier http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/MDA_020503_100003_S.jpg

if you compare it to yours they look very similar. I am a little hesitant on saying that I know for a fact that it is a Broad-winged because the ones we have where I live barely eat squirrels since they will waste a good amount of energy catching the squirrel. Also like I said earlier if you can remember what the tail looks like the next time you see it and it has a wide white stripe in between 2 black stripes on the tail it is probably a Broad-winged

I do know its not a peregrine falcon though. I feed two of them daily :)

It seems to have more than one white stripe. I am leaning toward the Cooper's Hawk like JohnnyD suggested. Apparently they are very similar.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/id
http://www.wbu.com/chipperwoods/photos/coophawk.htm

Thanks for everyone’s help. I’ll let you know if I find out anything more.

[popsjumper 2]

I'll guess a Klingon with the cloaking device turned off.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[JohnMitchell 16]

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bald eagles are incredible. I love having the opportunity to see one everyday and getting the chance to be close up to these fantastic animals.

Come visit us up in WA. We live on the river and have them flying around in our back yard.

[faulk04 0]

I bet it is an incredible site to see...as soon as work and weather cooperate and I can get my last few student jumps in I will be visiting some other dzs so maybe WA will be in there eventually

[ahegeman 0]

That's a 2-3 year old female Cooper's Hawk. No question.

---------------------------------------------------------------
There is a fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'.
--Dave Barry

[BillyVance 34]

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That's a 2-3 year old female Cooper's Hawk. No question.

I have to agree. The colors and markings on the head and tail matches the Cooper's Hawk pic in my Peterson Field Guide book.

The main difference between the Cooper's Hawk and the Sharp-Shinned Hawk is the tail shape. Coopers are more rounded, while the Sharp Shinned's are more like 90 degree corners

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[david3 0]

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That's a 2-3 year old female Cooper's Hawk. No question.

I have to agree. The colors and markings on the head and tail matches the Cooper's Hawk pic in my Peterson Field Guide book.

The main difference between the Cooper's Hawk and the Sharp-Shinned Hawk is the tail shape. Coopers are more rounded, while the Sharp Shinned's are more like 90 degree corners

[david3 0]

Interesting article in today’s (February 20, 2011) Philadelphia Inquirer.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/116550778.html

Plus video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN35qQnHzaM&feature=player_embedded

[warpedskydiver 0]

Looks like a red tailed hawk, but the head is slightly darker

At first I only saw the last picture taken from inside the house

[Herky 0]

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bald eagles are incredible. I love having the opportunity to see one everyday and getting the chance to be close up to these fantastic animals.

Come visit us up in WA. We live on the river and have them flying around in our back yard.

This morning I noticed over 40 bald eagles on the frozen lake. I didn't think it was open yet anywhere. Yet all the eagles were in a tight circle. Maybe 100 feet from the road. I made a post on facebook asking what they were eating, as it is common for people to throw fish and other meat out on the ice for them. Or perhaps there was a small open hole they were getting fish out of.

Five minutes after posting that on facebook my car alarm starts going off. I looked out the window and there was a 1.5 - 2 lbs chunk of mangled fish body on my roof. Guess I got my answer.