Another slow day here on Cedar Creek in Shenandoah County. No new
long-distance migrants, except one which was pretty exciting. It was a
dark-phase Broad-winged Hawk, my first one ever. It was alone and hung around
over my property and the neighbors' for at least 10 minutes, giving me good
views. The only book I have with me is an older edition of NGS, so the flying
raptor illustrations are somewhat limited. However, nothing else fits in terms
of size, jizz, and the distinctive tail pattern. The body and wing linings were
chocolate brown and the flight feathers gray. Given that there are no other
buteos anything like that here, the ID should be a slam-dunk. The only
comparable species is the dark-phase Short-tailed Hawk, but we're a long way
from central-southern Florida. I must admit, though, that the passage through
Florida then northward of Hurrican Katrina did give me a bit of
pause--especially since the bird was trying to catch Sooty Terns and
Band-rumped Storm-pet
rels over my meadow (Just kidding!). I have always understood that dark-phase
Broad-wings are common in western Canada but not east of the Great Plains. I'd
be interested in whether they do show up in Virginia from time to time, and
hope that others may get a chance to see this bird. Last time I saw him he was
headed toward Little North Mountain (the western "wall" of the Shenandoah
Valley at this latitude) and generally southwestward.
Dave Davis
Arlington and Cedar Creek
