On Mon, 29 Jan 1996, Michelsen, Teresa wrote:

>
> Just saw a Harlan's red-tailed hawk in our yard, and looked up two other
> records in November and January. I read somewhere that these dark
> subspecies breed in Canada and Alaska and winter in "central" U.S. Does
> anyone know what time of year they are "typically" seen around
> Seattle/Eastside? Anyone else noticed these in their neighborhoods?
>
Teresa--

This is the time you're most likely to find a Harlans..they are
not common and perhaps even rare. We had an adult Harlans at
the Nisqually Refuge in Olympia last year..one or two usually
show up in the Hawk count at the Skagit..they are quite a
treat to see. I guess I've never heard of very many Harlans
showing up around here..and while I've not been keeping track,
I only have heard of fewer than a 1/2 dozen individuals on this
side of the mts in a season..


I might suggest Clark & Wheeler's latest effort
*a Photographic Guide to N. American Raptors*..it's well worth
$29.95 of your hard earned cash as it is all color photos and
the section on redtails is 12 pages long by itself..and it
contains some interesting photos of dark morph birds as well
as Harlan's and comparisons with dark morph Rough Legs..
If you've really got a Harlan's you're lucky..
Is it an immature bird? (Clark & Wheeler can help with that
diagnosis..they do comparisons)

Tom