Hello Tweets,

This morning at 11am while scanning the skies over our Fircrest yard a single buteo soared over our yard,then a much larger adult Red-tailed Hawk appeared out of nowhere. A quick run for the binoculars,as both birds were refound in the skies soaring together. The smaller raptor showed an obvious banded tail with 2 thin white bands(thinnest on the outer edge of the tail)bordered by 2 broad dark bands with a completely dark trailing edge along the underwing to the dark-tipped primaries. The wings were quite broad and it was apparent that the smaller buteo was definitely an adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK! The size difference between the bird and the adult Red-tailed Hawk was significant,as the 2 birds soon parted ways as the Broad-winged Hawk drifted northward. This bird was obvious and definite and it is too bad we didn't get a photo of the bird! A quick check of the clear skies above our house before sending this message produced a single adult Red-tailed Hawk and a drifting Osprey heading northward.

The breast pattern on the Broad-winged Hawk was somewhat dark rufous,but in a somewhat barred pattern extending to the underwing coverts with a darkish cast to the head. The breast pattern became more diffused further down the breast turning to completely white on the belly. The bird when soaring fanned it's tail out much more than the nearby Red-tailed Hawk,but when drifting off to the north the tail was held more tightly in. It was truly an exciting bird to see and an even much more unexpected bird than the Swainson's Hawk we had over our yard on the 30th of April. We wonder what will be next,but overall our yard has been too quite over the past several days with almost no activity of migrants. Our yard continues to amaze us,as we never paid more attention to the skies above more than this year! We have had a small influx of Black-headed Grosbeaks and Western Tanagers in our immediate area with 2-3 male Black-headed Grosbeaks cautiously visiting our seed feeders.


Good birding and keep looking up,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com