This bird has been frequenting my mom’s back yard. I finally got a shot of it where I could make out some of the markings. This is in Northern Virginia. To me it looks like it could be a Peregrine Falcon.
Any thoughts?
Sorry, but no. I think it is a juvenile red-tailed hawk. Link. One of the bird experts should be along shortly and make a positive ID.
Dont’t think so, the colours and markings are different, although it might be a juvenile I suppose - IANAO. From here:
Let’s try anotherlink.
We’re thinking it could also be a Marsh Hawk
My dad, the amateur ornithologists, says it’s either a immature Red Tailed, immature Red Shouldered or a Swainson’s Hawk.
There are at least two species of hawk that frequent the immediate vicinity of my place here in rural eastern North Carolina – one a larger bird given to gliding/soaring, whose normal flight style and feathering make his wingtips look “ragged” in level gliding flight, and the other a smaller, more compact, more acrobatic bird that sometimes does “dive bomber” hunting. I’ve been unable to get a good non-sillhouette view of them close enough to identify them by markings.
I’m just a amateur birdwatcher, but from my trusty Peterson’s:
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It’s unlikely to be a peregrine. They have curved black “sideburns” dropping from beneath their eyes (both adults and immature birds); your bird doesn’t.
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It’s unlikely to be an immature red-tailed. They have a patch of unflecked white on their breast while your bird has a flecked breast.
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It’s unlikely to be a marsh hawk (northern harrier). The males are greay and the females seem to be much more heavily streaked (see the pic on this page for a comparison). Immature harriers are russet underneath.
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I’m guessing an immature northern goshawk. Peterson’s says: note pale stripe over eye and zig-zag tail banding. Your bird seems to have both, but the picture is a little washed out so it’s hard to tell. Here’s another pic of an immature northern goshawk.
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If it’s not that, it’s probably an immature cooper’s hawk or sharp-shinned hawk. A big difference among the three is size. Sharp-shinned hawks are 10" to 14", cooper’s hawks are 14" to 20", and northern goshawks are 20" to 26". Yours looks large, but it’s hard to tell from the picture.
Keep in mind there’s literally TONS of different Red-Tailed color schemes in this country-
depending on whether this bird is a resident or winter migrant it could have come from any
eastern population. Everything about the body shape/heft, head, legs, etc. (the
so-called “jizz” of the bird) screams Red-Tailed to me.
It was a peregrine which flew through my backyard (15 years ago this month) which got me
started on well everything which has happened in my life since then.
It appears to me to be an immature Red-tailed Hawk. Compare this image:
http://www.smm.org/warnernaturecenter/media/images/programs/red_tailed_hawk.jpg
It’s definitely a Buteo, the group that includes Red-tailed, Broad-winged, and Red-shouldered Hawks. It’s definitely not a falcon (Peregrine or other species), lacking the facial markings found in these species, and is too heavily-built and short-tailed to be an accipiter (Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, or Goshawk) or a harrier.
It is also too heavily built to be a Red-shouldered Hawk; it’s markings appear to me to be more typical of Red-tailed Hawk than other likely Buteos in the area.
Red-tailed Hawk is pretty much the default winter raptor in Virginia and the rest of the northeastern species.
Looks most like the immature Red-Tailed Hawk, especially the head.