This question takes me back to the Peterson field guide. Not to knock this
fine work in any way, but it does show every Buteo with pretty much the same
wing shape and proportions. This of course is not true, as any hawk watcher
will tell you. When seen in flight, Swainson's Hawk can be separated from
other Buteos by its long, narrow (for a Buteo) pointed wings. It's a very
sleek Buteo, for sure. I don't even need to get into plumage. The shape will
do it, as some of my black shots from cloudy intervals will attest (got good
ones, too).
Why's it hanging around so long? There are a lot of grasshoppers in the
area.
Just a thought. It seems to me that there's a commercial to be made here.
"No matter where your travels take you -- Wyoming, Texas, Argentina --
there's a Red Carpet Inn there for you". You had to be there.
Steve Walter
Bayside, NY
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Holbrook" <mycte...@stny.rr.com>
To: "'NYSBIRDS'" <NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu>
Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 11:08 PM
Subject: [nysbirds-l] New Baltimore - Swainsons Hawk ? Are you Serious?
So why is this bird considered a Swainson's Hawk and not a more melanistic
Red-tailed Hawk? I've seen Red-tailed Hawks way darker to totally white.
I've looked at the photos of this bird posted on line and I just don't see
it. The Red-tailed Hawk is the most variable hawk in North America. I've had
birds look just about like this that I've seen raised from a nest of two
Red-tailed Hawks on numerous occasions in both NY and PA. It seems to me
that if this was a Swainson's Hawk moving through it would not be here in
the same place for so long. Can anyone give a rational explanation for this
being identified as a Swainson's Hawk. Thanks in advance!!!
Jeff Holbrook
Corning, NY
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