| Common Name | Northern Red-tailed Hawk |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Buteo jamaicensis abieticola |
| Type of Report | Rare Species |
| Date of Observation | 02/22/2018 |
| Media | |
| Number Observed | 1 |
| Reporting Observer's Name | Susan Elliott |
| Mailing Address | 62 Heather Ln Rutland, VT 05701 United States Map It |
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| Date Completed | 02/23/2018 |
| Names & Emails of Other Contributing Observers | Marv Elliott, |
| Latitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 43.8083502 |
| Longitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | -73.2420473 |
| Place Name | Old Sawmill Rd |
| Township | Orwell |
| County | Addison |
| Vermont eBird Checklist URL | ebird.org |
| Time of Day | 03:01 PM |
| Length of Time Observed | 3 minutes |
| Maximum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 200 yards |
| Minimum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 200 yards |
| Noteworthy Weather Conditions | completely cloudy; no precipitation; fairly dark out due to clouds and time of day, but the bird was clearly visible with no obstruction from tree branches |
| Optical Equipment Used for Observation | Vortex Viper 8x42 (all three, same make and power) |
| Observer’s Previous Acquaintance With This or Similar Species | Rare Species Documentation submitted for same subspecies seen on January 1, 2018, near the location of this sighting. Little prior experienced with subspecies until this year. |
| I certify that any attachments included with this report were captured during this observation event. | |
| Description of Habitat | open, agricultural field, no snow except some banks here and there along the edges; the hawk was sitting on a branch of a tree on the tree line between fields; no other birds of this species or any other species were present |
| Behaviors Observed | bird sat perched on branch during entire observation |
| Description of Vocalizations | none |
| Verbal Narrative & Description of Observation | The hawk was perched in a tree near not far from where we saw and reported Northern Red-tailed Hawk on January 1, 2018. We saw three Red-tailed Hawks about one half hour earlier on Griswold Lane, which runs parallel to Old Sawmill Road and which is visible from this spot (those were reported on a separate eBird checklist). Those birds appeared much lighter (especially the belly band) and were probably Buteo jamaicensis borealis although we did not spend much time looking at them or take a photo. |
| Relative Size & Shape | Buteo-sized and shaped; larger than a crow, considerably smaller than a Bald Eagle. |
| Head | dark brown hood with 'dribbles' onto breast |
| Feet & Bill | raptor-shaped bill; feet not visible due to distance |
| Upper Back | not visible |
| Lower Back & Rump | not visible |
| Wings | dark, but not really visible |
| Breast, Belly, Flanks, Under Tail Coverts | lighter breast with very dark belly band consisting of dark vertical streaks |
| Tail | difficult to see due to position of bird |
| IMPORTANT: What similar species were eliminated when making the identification and how was this bird different? | This bird was clearly a Red-tailed Hawk and not a Rough-legged based on the breast markings (belly band) and dark hood, spreading down breast in 'dribbles.' |
| Other Notes & Comments | n/a |
| This report was written from notes taken: | Written from Memory |
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