Dearest Tweets,

These observations are consistent with my own, on a dark phase juvenile
RTH seen at The Fill, about 6 weeks ago. Sounds like the same bird.

Robert Pisano / Seattle


On Jan 4, 2008, at 4:34 PM, Evan Houston wrote:

> Hi Mark,
> ??? I encountered a hawk at the Fill this Tuesday whose description
> and behavior completely matches what you recounted.? I believe it
> looks perfect for an immature Red-tailed Hawk, as Red-tails less than
> a year old have a barred tail, as you described, and not a red tail.?
> However, I did note that its eye color appears to already be changing,
> as it was not yellow like a young juvie, but was instead turning
> fairly dark, like that of an adult Red-tail.
> ??? The dark streaks on the belly (belly band), patagial bar (dark
> patch at the leading edge of the inner part of the underwing in
> flight) were consistent with a Red-tail, and there were no characters
> that suggested to me that it was another species of raptor.
> ??? Also, as you said, the bird perched up obviously everywhere, which
> was, to me, a sign of an inexperienced hunter still learning the
> ropes.? I laughed out loud when the Red-tail did about 4 dives in
> succession on a Great Blue Heron, eliciting some hideous croaks from
> the Heron - that was another sign to me that this bird is a young
> dummy who hasn't learned how to be a good hunter yet!
>
> -Evan
>
>
>
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