Raptor identification

[Jeff Parks]

OK, I am going to have to work on my raptor ID skills.

I saw this one today while at Walden Ponds, but can't make a determination as to what it is.

It is too small for a Red-Tail Hawk, but bigger than I think a Cooper's Hawk would be.

Help, please ...

Jeff Parks

Boulder

[Jeff Parks]

Hi again -

Thanks to everyone that responded.  The consensus is that this is a juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk, which I considered at one point, but wasn't sure about due to my initial observations.  When I first saw it, it looked smaller than the other Red-Tails I had been watching a short time earlier, and it didn't have any red coloring in the tail.  Also, it didn't have the tail fanned out when flying, looking more like a falcon at first.  I watched it sitting in the tree for a few minutes, and the white spots on the back made me think Red-Tail, but the tail feathers looked different than what I thought they should be for this species.  These darn juveniles always give me problems!  I know that there is a Harlan's hawk that frequents the north side of Walden, perhaps this one is an offspring.   

Anyway, mystery solved.  I obviously need to spend more time studying these birds, there is so much variation in the Red-Tails that it drives me nuts!  

Happy birding -

Jeff Parks

Boulder