[TN-Bird] Re: possible N Goshawk at Percy Priest Lake longer version
- From: Tony Lance <tonylance@xxxxxxx>
- To: TN-Bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:24:47 -0600
This morning around 11:15 I had what I, too, think was an immature
Northern Goshawk, a species I've never seen before. I was leaving the
Wood Thrush Shop on Hwy 70 in Nashville when a hawk circling caught
my eye. It looked different, showing what seemed to be a combination
of buteo and accipiter characteristics. I pulled into a parking lot
and watched this bird overhead for 5-10 minutes. I can say several
things with confidence. It was an accipiter and it was big. The size
of this bird is not something I'm basing on impression alone. As it
was circling a Sharp-shinned Hawk dive bombed it three or four times
and I could judge the larger bird to be about twice the size of the
smaller. The larger bird was heavily streaked below, and the streaks
extended all the way to the undertail. The tail was long and
accipiter-like. There was not a lot of contrast on the wings or tail;
it was basically a dull beige below except for the streaks and the
tail bands which were brownish. The exception was that on each side
of the vent, right around the base of the tail, there appeared to be
a noticeable whitish area that stood out when the bird banked.
Another thing I noticed, which I may not be able to describe well,
was that the tail bands didn't stand out compared to the pattern on
the wings and body. What I mean is that on a Cooper's Hawk the tail
bands are crisp and bold and there's nothing that looks like that on
the wings or body. On this bird the tail bands weren't all that
different, in terms of color contrast and appearance, from the rest
of the markings underneath on the wings and body. I could not discern
anything useful from the bird's head. The wings appeared different
than a Cooper's: they seemed to be longer relative to the tail
length, and less rounded with the primaries showing more separation
than what I'd expect on a Cooper's. I also saw the bird flap a number
of times and it didn't beat its wings the same way a Cooper's does;
the flaps were slower, more like a Red-tailed Hawk.
I've since looked at all my field guides (Sibley, Peterson, Nat Geo,
Stokes and the new Crossley Guide) as well as a few images online,
and the photos and illos of the immature Northern Goshawk are a
match. In fact, the image on the top left of the Goshawk page in the
Crossley Guide is a dead-on match for what I was seeing.
Tony Lance
Springfield, TN
On Feb 20, 2011, at 7:42 PM, Rconnorsphoto@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Same report as before with more detail:
>
> Feb. 19, 2011 Hamilton Creek Recreation area, J. Percy Priest Lake,
> Davidson County TN
>
> On an NTOS outing to Percy Priest Lake Jan Shaw and I observed what we
> concluded was an immature (sub-adult, first year) Northern Goshawk.
> The bird
> was moving north-east from the lake over the treeline and flew
> overhead. Wind
> was out of the north-west at about 15 mph. The sky was overcast
> but not
> too dark. Lighting was not the best but not terrible.
>
> We had stopped after a turn to wait for stragglers and the other
> group went
> on the lake (the bay near the mountain bike trail /BMX parking
> area). The
> area is cedar forest about 200 yards from the lake. I was out of
> the car
> standing when I first saw it approaching from the lake area. It
> dipped below
> the treeline, and came on towards us at an angle. Jan saw it at
> some point
> and got out of the car. I was viewing with 10x42 Swarovski
> binoculars and
> was on it the entire time it was visible. It was not flapping and
> gliding
> in the typical accipiter fashion but shallow rowing and soaring,
> tacking
> against the wind. It passed overhead at no great altitude.
>
> From underneath it was heavily streaked on the chest and belly,
> with no
> distinguishing pattern to wings or tail.
> Wings: generally buteo shaped, bent at the wrist but not angled and
> pointed
> as in falcon, with fingers of primaries splayed slightly, so
> peregrine
> falcon eliminated; wings not patterned in any way, but just
> appeared mottled;
> red-shouldered hawk and northern harrier usually have some
> distinguishing
> pattern in the wings from below, and harrier wings should have
> appeared
> long.
> The tail was longish and faintly barred, but not thin and long as
> usually
> appears in Cooper's hawk. Face not seen well.
> In size it was smaller than red-tailed hawk but much larger than
> Cooper's.
> Our experience with Cooper's hawks over the years told us this was
> bird
> was larger and evidently something different. We observed a couple of
> red-tails during the morning and the larger size was reinforced.
> Dark forms of
> red-tail did not fit because of size, and distinctive shape and
> pattern of
> streaks on the chest and belly of our mystery bird.
>
> Neither of us have previous experience with imm. goshawk, but by
> process of
> elimination going thru all the possibilities we could think of, we
> concluded it was sub-adult northern goshawk. This may not be
> enough evidence to
> hold up in bird court, and it may not be accepted by eBird's GBBC,
> but that's
> life on the birding trail, you do what you can.
>
> Richard Connors
> Nashville
>
> =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
>
> The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
> first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
> You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
> you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
> appear in the first paragraph.
> _____________________________________________________________
> To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
> tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> _____________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe, send email to:
> tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
> ______________________________________________________________
> TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
> endorse the views or opinions expressed
> by the members of this discussion group.
>
> Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
> wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
> Cleveland, OH
> -------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
> Rosedale, VA
> --------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan
> Clarksville, TN
> __________________________________________________________
>
> Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
> ARCHIVES
> TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
>
> MAP RESOURCES
> Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/
> tennessee3.gif
> Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
>
> _____________________________________________________________
>
>
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
Cleveland, OH
-------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
Rosedale, VA
--------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan
Clarksville, TN
__________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARCHIVES
TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
MAP RESOURCES
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
_____________________________________________________________
Other related posts:
