After receiving some highly informative responses, I believe the Red-tailed Hawk mentioned above may likely represent a member of the boreal forest breeding population sometimes known as *abieticola*. This article from *Birding* has some excellent images and descriptions of the subspecies, along with several images that match the Napeague individual relatively well: https://northernredtails.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/rth_aabieticiola_north_american_birds_march_2014.pdf
Thanks to Steve Walter and others for providing this information; it's always interesting to become aware of a subspecies that might be more regular in our area than we might think. Brent Bomkamp Northport, NY On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 5:26 PM, Brent Bomkamp <[email protected]> wrote: > I spent the day working my way west from Montauk on the what felt like the > first truly cold day of the season (21 degrees F driving out on the LIE). > Much of the standing water was frozen even at mid-day. Montauk Point > itself was rather quiet, but sea duck numbers are picking up with about > 3000 total scoters between the point and Camp Hero. > > The best bird of the day was a *Dovekie *that flew eastward past the west > breakwater at Lake Montauk Inlet at 9:00 AM (details here: > http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25995495). No Razorbills > were seen, making it the lone alcid of the day. Also present was a 1st > winter Lesser Black-backed Gull resting on the jetty and a nice > concentration of 110 Bonaparte's Gulls. > > The most intriguing bird, however, was an unusual Red-tailed Hawk along > Napeague Meadow Road just past the Art Barge. I was originally struck by > its darkness, especially the dark throat and rufous coloration on the sides > of the neck and flanks. The tail proved to show some slight, thin barring > and some whitish coloration at the base. This leads me to consider a > lighter morph of the "Western" subspecies, but I'm wholly unfamiliar with > its identification and would appreciate any input on separating the two > forms and comments on the photos. Photos and more description are here: > http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25995822 > > Four *Tundra Swans* have returned to Hook Pond, as viewed from the > four-wheel-drive trail on the western edge of the pond. > > A 1st cycle *Black-legged Kittiwake* was present at the end of Peter's > Pond Lane in Sagaponack loafing and feeding with a flock of Red-throated > Loons and some Herring Gulls only about 100 yards offshore. I had never > seen a kittiwake in this context in our area, so it was pretty exciting. I > unfortunately managed only one mediocre photo: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/bebirder/22681899623/in/dateposted-public/ > > Finally, an adult *Greater White-fronted Goose* was on Short's Pond with > the ever-present Canadas. > > Happy Thanksgiving, > Brent Bomkamp > Northport, NY > > > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
