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Post by Gord on Jan 9, 2021 13:50:22 GMT -8
Raymond Ng just saw a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk on Angus Campbell Road just north of Vye Road. It was first seen on the 7th so shockingly is still around! Raymond’s raptor magic continues. An exceptional find for the winter for a species that should be in Central America now. DSC_1456 CCAP by Gord G, on Flickr DSC_1421 CCAP by Gord G, on Flickr DSC_1416 CCAP by Gord G, on Flickr
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Post by stengar on Jan 9, 2021 21:16:19 GMT -8
I just being notified that it is not a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk but it is an intermediate dark morph Harlan's. If it is a Harlan's it must be a very special one. Its very small size is very unusual. It is about 3/4 the size of a Northern Harrier. Plus it allows me to be roughly 70 yards away taking pictures while inside my car. Checking info on my first picture and the last has a duration of 7 minutes. A normal Harlan's will never stay that long, it will be long gone. I think this is a very special bird for everyone to see.
When I first saw that hawk on Jan 7 I have a hard time to ID this small hawk. Base on my photos which do not include back and wings spread shots (flight shot) I have three confirmation that it is a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk. It proves that it is very difficult to ID bird from photos, even for experts.
Raymond Ng
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Post by Dave on Jan 10, 2021 8:24:14 GMT -8
Thanks for posting about this ID challenge, Raymond.
Great bird to find regardless of the final ID conclusion! Sharing your sighting has forced me into some of the literature and we all become more educated through these kind of experiences.
I find the size of the bird intriguing and hope to see it myself sometime. Thanks for discovering so many winter raptors over the years and always being willing to share your sightings.
Thanks again, Dave Beeke
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Post by stengar on Jan 10, 2021 8:40:14 GMT -8
Thank you Dave for your nice comments. Bird watching is challenging. There is always something new and I learn from it. Sharon Toochin's flight shot photos match the patterns of Harlan's. This tiny hawk is my toughest most difficult bird to identify. In the end it is a very unique hawk for everyone to see. I hope you will find it. See you in the field and happy birding.
Thanks
Raymond Ng
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Post by Gord on Jan 10, 2021 9:37:28 GMT -8
Raymond, a most interesting find indeed. I guess we know now why it was atypically hanging out more in the open and not as I had lamented "probably will tuck itself in along the base of Sumas Mountain or something closer to more trees and cover" . What a small hawk. If there ever was a time to be able to tell the difference between the smaller males and larger females this is the one! Thanks for sharing it and bringing new knowledge to the ongoing learning process.
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Post by stengar on Jan 10, 2021 10:25:11 GMT -8
Thank you Gord, it is such a lovely tiny hawk. Hope you will find it.
Raymond Ng
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Post by Gord on Jan 14, 2021 20:32:04 GMT -8
Jamie and I found Raymond's little hawk on Sunday and we managed to get some photos from the back and in flight which nicely closes the loop on this bird. We saw it on Angus Campbell at first and before even getting a closer look we both said it looks a bit small and that it might be 'the bird'. We snapped a couple photos. 019_2697 by Gord G, on Flickr 019_2698 by Gord G, on Flickr We got out and it flew almost right away. Quite a jumpy bird. I got some photos as it flew west towards Sumas Way. We watched it land in a small tree and we went to see it again as we didn't see the front of the bird and wanted to make sure the bird we saw (and that looked Harlan's to me on my camera screen.) was the same bird. 019_2699 by Gord G, on Flickr 019_2700 by Gord G, on Flickr 019_2701 by Gord G, on Flickr Showing the barred wingtips quite well. 019_2703 by Gord G, on Flickr We caught up with it and yup same pattern on the front as the bird that started all the interest. It wasn't long before it flew and a Red-tailed Hawk chased it back east towards Angus Campbell. The Red-tailed quick fairly quickly but two Northern Harriers took over the bully business and chased it some more. No wonder the poor little guy is so jumpy. The American Kestrels probably also push him around. Size-wise, I felt it was similarly sized to the Harriers. We drove past Angus Campbell and Kenny on our way home again to see where it went but didn't find it in our quick look. We also enjoyed seeing a dark and light-phase Rough-legged Hawks on our drive. Such beautiful birds.
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