While on a scheduled field trip with the Baltimore Bird Club,
  I saw what I identified as an adult Northern Goshawk.
  Location: Nicodemus Road, near its northern end "T" intersection
  with Medford Road (which was visible from the site).
  Delorme map 73, upper half of C-6, left of the word "Medford".
  ADC Carroll County Map, 15th edition, 2004, map 18, grid 9H,
  bottom center (south of the stream).
  Surroundings: fields and hill slopes up on either side of the
  road. The road slopes down to the north to a stream valley.
  The bird was soaring above the west side of the road, gradually
  higher and higher, and drifting slowly southward, then southwest
  and finally out of view to the southwest behind a hill.
  Time: about 10:30 am, sunny, clear skies. With me looking west and up,
  the sun was behind me and to my left.
  What I saw: through the windshield, a soaring raptor with a white
  rump, possibly a Northern Harrier - but something didn't look right.
  I got out of the car and got the bird in binocular view. I saw
  what then looked like a large accipiter - only it was almost all
  white below, like an adult male Harrier would be, but the black edging
  on the primary tips didn't form a solid triangle, and the tail banding
  was blue-gray with narrow white bands, no hint of brown. Then I saw
  the face briefly - white sides with a broad black band through the eyes
  as would be seen on an adult Northern Goshawk. Before I saw that, I was
  considering a large female Cooper's Hawk, but the proportions didn't
  look right; the body was too broad and heavy, giving the classic
  Goshawk "stovepipe" appearance. The tail didn't protrude enough in the
  middle retrices, but wasn't square-cut like a Sharp-shinned Hawk would be.
  The bird was much too long-tailed and slender-bodied for a buteo,
  and showed no field marks (other than white below) consistent with any
  buteo species. The tail was gray and banded, not reddish or brownish,
  and was a clean extension of the heavy tube-shaped body. There was no
  bend in the wings such as might be seen on an Osprey (which is much
  longer-winged).
  By the time the other observers were alerted and out of their cars, the
  bird was soaring higher and field marks were harder to see. It just looked
  like an accipiter, too high and far away for easy identification. Even at
  distance, it didn't show the Sharp-shinned "flying T" appearance, but was
  not as easy to separate from Cooper's Hawk.
  I was using 10x42 Swift "Ultra Lite" roof-prism binoculars at the time.
  Other observers present: Kevin Graff, Steve Sanford, Joel Martin, Catherine Bishop.
  I don't know how much they saw; I think only Kevin felt confident in calling it
  a Northern Goshawk based on what he saw; the others didn't get good enough looks
  for identification, but none disputed my I.D.
  Steve Sanford got Bob Ringler's cell phone number and called him about the bird,
  and I gave a brief description and promised to post to MDOsprey when I got home.
  We drove around several roads to the southwest and eventually circling clockwise back
  to the origional site, but didn't see any accipiters while searching for another look
  at the bird. Two perched Red-tailed Hawks were spotted.
  Other highlights from the field trip, which followed: Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrows
  and Horned Larks on nearby Jasontown Road, west of the intersection with Springdale Road,
  and Red-headed Woodpeckers seen at several sites further west in the County, including
  two different birds along Sharrett Road (near the two stream crossings).
  PW



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