Subject: Ferruginous Hawk?
Date: Aug 23 00:25:44 2000
From: Jim McCoy - jfmccoy at earthlink.net


Jacki --

Your description sounds just like an osprey, which are frequently found
in Redmond.

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA



-----Original Message-----
From: Jacki Bricker [mailto:seaotter at eskimo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 8:29 AM
To: Tweeters (E-mail)
Subject: Ferruginous Hawk?



Am I crazy, or is it possible that I saw a Ferruginous Hawk yesterday in
Redmond?

Last night, as I was driving home through the Sammamish Slough Valley (where
116th and 124th cross the valley, just south of Grousemont Estates, I saw a
hawk flying overhead. I slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road
to get a better look and see what it was. Granted, I couldn't get the best
view out my car window, but here's what I was able to identify:

A buteo-sized (large!) hawk with a light underside, and a V of darker, brown
feathers on the wing linings. It looked like a single line, like the letter
V (as opposed to the space filled in with color), but I could be mistaken
there. Of specific note was dark wing tips on the outermost primary
feathers. The tail was shorter than a Northern Harrier, and I couldn't see
significant striping (like you'd see in an RT or Sharp-Shinned Hawk).

This was about all I could ID with the fast look that I got. But it was an
unusual enough sighting for me to go home and consult my field guide. The
closest thing I can see from the photos there was a Ferruginous Hawk, but it
appears from the range map that they only occur on the east side of the
Cascades (roughly).

Which prompts me to ask: Has anyone here seen a Ferruginous on the west
side of the mountains (in the Redmond-ish area)? If it wasn't a
Ferruginous, could someone offer some suggestions as to what it might have
been?

Thanks in advance!
-Jacki Bricker
Woodinville, Washington