Sharp shinned hawk. The back spots is what I am going by. If I could see the breast feathers they should have red and white pattern.
Qualification statement: I do bird ID for a living.
I used to do a lot of bird watching...Even kept a list...Got up to over 100 in Indiana.....I had trouble ID'ing Birds of Prey...I got so confused on I bought this book...
I still suck at it...Good on you Spence for sharing your knowledge....
It is a red tail.
Only red on mature specimens. Takes a few years for immature stripeys to get their red.I agree with this.
My only other guess would be Broad-Winged because it doesn't look that big and the tail doesn't look that red (in the photo) and it should be noticeably red.
That's because they were all "chicken hawks" and were shot on sight. We lost two of our ISA Browns to red-tails last summer.I for one am happy to see the population where it is today. I grew up in west-central Indiana in the '70s and don't recall ever seeing any hawks.
And look at all the other pics that AREN'T spotted. And the gray color on matures. And the rust barring on the breast. Always going to be exceptions.Look under the diet tab here.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp-shinned_hawk
sure looks like the spotted back of a sharpie. Plus I take it is a very small hawk and a bird feeder is very close to the deck in question. Then again just a bird watcher here. I still think sharpie
Park manager/naturalist/resource manager. Not just bird ID. I also get paid to lead caving trips, guide school groups, create graphics, write articles, chop invasive exotics and burn things. Specialization is for insects.anyway-what I really want to know is what kind of job is it that ID’s birds for a living? Im impressed with your knowledge. I’m always interested in what people do for a living and I just wouldn’t think there is enough need for that that someone could make money doing it. But I guess I’m wrong.
Quite true. If you love your job, you never "work" a day in your life. I'll never get rich, but I have everything I need and most of what I want. More than that is too much.That's pretty awesome. I assume you love it. Which is the key, of course.
I'm always happy to find someone that loves their job, which in turn, makes it not a job.
(BTW--I have Ps 149:6 engraved on my Grayman knife).
I saw some kind of hawk or falcon today. Not a red tail so I am not sure what it is.
View attachment 62283 I do not know why this is sideways or how to fix it.