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| Discussion of other Raptor species; their anatomy, biology, ecology, etc. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 16 2007, 11:04 AM (18,125 Views) | |
| Bea | Nov 8 2007, 01:59 PM Post #256 |
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Bill, I meant to say that the Red-Tail Hawk is being mobbed by a crow. In the Kite picture, it is another Kite that was encroaching "my" Kite's hunting ground, and the brief encounter in the air occured. The intruding Kite retreated afterwards. From my picture it is really hard to tell that it is another Kite, although the tail feathers look right. |
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| Raptorman | Nov 8 2007, 02:21 PM Post #257 |
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| Bea | Nov 8 2007, 02:39 PM Post #258 |
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Hahaha, I don't know. I looked again, but it's hard to tell. Also, I don't think the Crow was soaring, it may just look like that in the pic? I do know that it was a crow though. There were actually three or four crows after that hawk, but only one ended up in the picture (quite by accident). My neighbor Nancy, (a good friend of Patti's) and above who's yard this pic was taken, actually feeds the crows in her garden. We sometimes have 40-50 Crows sitting along our dividing fence and in the avocado orchards, and let me tell you, they make a racket. But fun to watch nevertheless. Quite a funny story about how Nancy came to feed them. Nancy has a cat (Spencer) of which the crows were not scared of at all. Nancy got frightened that her cat would be carried off by a crow someday (yes, I tried to tell her they would not do that :lol: ), but, to keep them from being hungry, she started feeding them. So, now we have them here in great numbers. Patti, Nancy probably sent those crows over to you the other day, cause they were not here at their "home" that day. :lol: Bill, by what points are you easily able to tell that the other bird is a Kite in the Kite-picture? I knew it because I saw it live, but in the picture, it looks so dark, and I really can't see any good markings or the face. The long wing and the tail sure does look like a Kite's though. |
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| ostrich2 | Nov 8 2007, 06:11 PM Post #259 |
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Yes this was exactly my thought - it was awkward to have the plates, photographs and descriptions for a given species in different sections of the guide, as I would hear people calling out different species, and I would be trying to look them up. I can see there being a benefit as well to that organization, as having all the plates grouped together does make it nice when you're trying to match a sighting to a group of similar looking species and you can quickly flip back and forth for comparison. So there are pros and cons I think. |
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| Raptorman | Nov 8 2007, 06:37 PM Post #260 |
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| Raptorman | Nov 8 2007, 06:55 PM Post #261 |
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| ostrich2 | Nov 8 2007, 06:55 PM Post #262 |
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I had a very nice closeup hawk sighting today as I was driving along the road at the back of the property at work - I think now that I'm going to have to make sure I keep my binoculars and my camera in the trunk just in case. I noticed the large raptor perched high in a tree at the edge of the wooded area right beside the road as I was driving along, and I stopped to take a closer (naked eye) look. The bird was facing the road, so I could not see the upper side, but the underside was the mainly slate grey kind of color I've seen on several other occasions with raptor sightings. There was some darker spotted markings on the body towards the tail and there did seem to be a dark band along the edge of the tail if I recall correctly. I was able to watch the bird in the tree for about 30 seconds and then it took off and flew right overhead and started soaring over the open field on the other side of the road. It eventually worked its way further and further away but one thing that was interesting is that it periodically was kiting, but was flapping with surprisingly short and quick wing beats when doing so. Then after a few seconds it would return to a gradual circling soaring flight. It certainly seemed to be seeking prey (presumably rodents) in the field. My best guess is this must have been an immature (perhaps light morph?) RT - certainly it was large and although it was always above me and I could only see the underside, it seems to be a reasonable candidate. I'm not quite 100% sure of the dark band at the end of the tail - the immature shown in the field guide doesn't show this - the underside of the tail is more or less the same color as the body. I see from the guide that the dark pataglial marks can be an indicator of the RT - I will have to watch for that next time. |
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| Raptorman | Nov 8 2007, 07:13 PM Post #263 |
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| ostrich2 | Nov 8 2007, 07:36 PM Post #264 |
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That is very interesting - the rough-legged hawk does indeed seem to have the dark line along the edge of the tail that this bird seemed to have. On the other hand, I don't recall specifically seeing the dark carpal patches on the underwings on this bird. that seem to be very distinctive. I find that's the challenging part for the beginner with these ids - often you can find something that almost matches what you think you remember seeing, but often something doesn't quite fit what the "book" says. But I think the rough-legged certainly could be a possibility. Now, what is also interesting is that dark carpal patch on the rough-legged does seem very much like the raptor that I mentioned seeing outside my building a couple of weeks ago. Of the very brief glimpse I got of this bird, what did stand out was the small dark patches on the wings against the more greyish body/underwings. Checking around, some sources do mention that the RL will sometimes hunt birds, although I'm not sure if chasing sparrows would be reasonable for a RL. It seems more like a long winged larger buteo more similar to the RT which you wouldn't expect to be nimble enough to be chasing small songbirds like that. |
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| Patti | Nov 8 2007, 07:49 PM Post #265 |
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I hear TWO owls now, Bea.... Edit...the darned telephone rang and I can't confirm two owls...but a lot of calls. Would it be your owl, Bea...you're so close and the territory might cover both of us, don't you think? Where was that kite? It is so beautiful! I didn't get the feeling you and Ralph were home when you sighted it. I have Sibley, so only see the White-tailed Kite. I have to go back and read the last 3 pages carefully again...Bill and Ostrich's comments too. Yes, I really really like this thread too! Back to bird chores..cage cleaning. I'll be back tomorrow, but want to study the pics again. Nancy's crows.. :lol: It is funny, Bea. |
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| Bea | Nov 8 2007, 07:51 PM Post #266 |
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I don't have the Sibley, but I do see the White Tailed Kite in the National Geographic (5th Ed). I don't see the black-shouldered Kite.
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| ostrich2 | Nov 8 2007, 07:59 PM Post #267 |
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The Peterson guide I have here (the copy from the library is an old edition - 1987) has the black-shouldered kite. There is no mention of a white-tailed kite. |
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| Nancy | Nov 8 2007, 09:30 PM Post #268 |
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Bea great photos of the Red Shouldered and Red Tail Hawks. I always look for the dark mark on the leading edge of the RT for my first clue. As you have been discussing lighting is always a challenge with any bird ID....it plays tricks on you. I have seen a couple of white tailed kites and they are spectacular to watch when they hover and then slowly, like a kite, go down to their prey. Bea as far as a life list goes, well everyone has their ways of keeping track of the birds they see. I try and write down the birds that I see right out in my backyard and of course on my birding walks. My life list consists of birds that I have seen at least once and yes during my life no matter where I have been. It is fun to see how many species you come across. Writing the time of the year that you see the bird also helps you to remember when they may pass through again, so you can be on the lookout.You should participate in the Big Backyard Bird Count in Feb. and of course the Christmas bird counts will be coming up in December. All very valuable counts to see how the species are doing. Looking forward to you pics of the little blue birds! |
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| Patti | Nov 8 2007, 10:38 PM Post #269 |
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Don't know how reliable this internet information is, but these are supposed to be Black-tailed kites. Thumbnails below--![]() ![]() ![]() From this site: http://www.pbase.com/tonbenrob/birds_in_flight |
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| Patti | Nov 8 2007, 10:43 PM Post #270 |
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Oops...can't go back into my post, wrecks the links, but they call them Black kites, so maybe it doesn't mean Black-tailed kite. Who knows what is reliable anyway. |
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no matter where I have been. It is fun to see how many species you come across. Writing the time of the year that you see the bird also helps you to remember when they may pass through again, so you can be on the lookout.



11:00 AM Jul 11