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Subject:

Jug Bay heads up - possible Swainson's hawk

From:

Jeff Shenot

Reply-To:

Jeff Shenot

Date:

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:30:38 -0400

I just got in from trying to get some video of a strange buteo, but had no 
luck.  I was out back (along the river) looking for a small heron that landed 
behind the house (probable green, not sure), and heard an irritated red-
shouldered hawk calling.  It was a steady call but not the panicky type.  The 
RSHA was in a scrubby dead tree about 35 feet up, and I looked at it to 
confirm it was the bird calling.  Then another bird flew in view through the 
trees and stooped on something up in a tree.  When the second bird came 
into view as it pulled up, I saw it was another RSHA.  Then the third bird, a 
buteo, flew and landed nearby in another tree (which had no leaves yet).  The 
first RSHA then flew to that tree and landed about 20 feet away from the 
buteo, calling louder and louder.  The second RSHA continued circling around 
the two perched birds.

I had a clear view of the buteo with my bins from about 200 feet; it was red-
tailed sized, noticeably larger than the RSHA, but I was surprised that it didn't 
look right.  It had a noticeable dark uniform hood, but was very light 
elsewhere.  My first thought was a Swainson's Hawk, but it was so light and it 
didn't have a dark chest pattern.  Something didn't click.

It had light barring on its tail, but no noticeable dark bands like a RSHA or 
BWHA, and the puzzling thing was the fleck pattern across its chest.  There 
was no bar pattern on it, and it had no pattern at all under its throat.  I 
needed it to fly for me to get other cues, and soon enough the second RSHA 
that was circling stooped again, and the buteo took off.  In flight the buteo 
had sort of a uniform appearance, with dark lining on the outer wings and a 
sort of dark triangle pattern at the tips.  The tail was finely barred with a 
somewhat wide terminal band, but it was not dark or very wide.  Except for 
the dark head pattern and lack of a chest bar, it resembled a juvenile RTHA, 
but something just didn't look right.  Unfortunately it never vocalized.

After looking at three field guide's I am not convinced it was a SWHA, but I 
strongly suspect it was.  It was a juvenile, I think it may have been a light-
phase SWHA.  I have done a lot of hawk watching at Cape May, and this bird 
jumped out as being unusual.  It was either a oddly plumaged RTHA, or my 
first SWHA in MD!

I will keep looking, but unfortunately the RSHA pair (local nesters) may have 
driven the bird away.  It was heading downstream toward Jackson Landing 
along the PG side of river when I last saw it (~10:45).

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD