PEAX Equipment

Hawk Identification

I'm with you guys a dark morph red tail after getting the birds of the west book out. I thought he was injured, I basically walked right up to him. He finally took off after a few minutes.
 
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I'm around, just busy chasing politicians and animals. Maybe they're the same thing.

I think this is a Harlan's. The head and legs make me say Redtail. The mottling on the chest (whitish brown) is probably just streaky, and the dark eye color is a haggard. The dark color is definitely a Harlan coloring, which is just the name of the dark-morph retails. Harlan's are pretty rare, maybe 10% of RTs.

It'd be too cold for Harris's in ID.

Gape (mouth) is too small for Ferruginous.

Wings look a bit short to be Swainson's.

Swainson's, Harris's, Ferruginous, Redtails, all have yellwo ceres (nose) and legs.

Buteos (RT, Ferug) were once referred to as chickenhawks, but they don't focus on birds as prey.
 
Pretty sure it's nesting in a tree out in my pasture. If I get a chance I'll get some more pics.
 
If you catch it flying, that is the easiest way to ID a Redtail. We have a pair that nests every year within 200 yards of our house, using two alternate nests, one east, one west. Watching them fly and looking at the coloration, three birds will have three different markings, but the one constant is the red tail.
 
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

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