Red-shouldered Hawk (elegans), McElmo Canyon, Montezuma County

[Mike Thompson]

Hi All - I do not often shoot up flares about rare birds; making exceptions for re-findable, low digit state records.

On December 11 and again yesterday in McElmo Canyon, I observed a Red-Shouldered Hawk (RHSA) belonging to the currently recognized western subspecies, elegans (Buteo lineatus elegans). 

Checklists:

• Dec 11, https://ebird.org/checklist/S288202947
• Dec 14, https://ebird.org/checklist/S288593252

There isn't much to share in terms of tips on seeing the hawk. Both observations were very short, at about 11am, with the hawk perched over the south shoulder, hunting while facing the morning sun. The first instance, it was on the powerline at the entrance to the guest ranch. The second time, it was a quarter mile further west. I spent a considerable amount of time on Dec 12 and 13 following up in vain. 

This section of County Road G is very curvy and narrow surrounded completely by private property with frequent distracted and sometimes drunk drivers. Attempting long duration birding outside of your vehicle from the narrow road shoulder will antagonize certain of my neighbors and potentially lead to open conflict. Certain unhappy neighbors still complain about birders chasing the 2007 Hooded Oriole which has eliminated some private birding opportunities in McElmo Canyon. Regular Montezuma County birders already know this, but to preserve future birding opportunities here, please be discreet with parking and presence. A very good option for viewing this hawk is to reach out to Ming Adams at the Canyon of the Ancients Guest Ranch to arrange parking and viewing on their property. I've spoken to Ming about this and she would like folks to call first (970-565-4288) before parking and viewing from their property.

A 2024 AOS proposal to treat B. l. elegans as a separate species was narrowly defeated (see attached split proposal and votes/comments). Based on the committees comments, it seems possible the western subspecies will eventually be split from its eastern counterparts in the not too distant future.

In the event of a split, this hawk in McElmo would likely represent a first state record. Although there is a 2021 RSHA (mistaken for Cooper's Hawk) posted on iNaturalist in Mesa County that does not appear on other platforms.

Hopefully the McElmo hawk stays for some time, and if so, hopefully its presence is well documented from numerous observations. In the interest of data integrity, if you do observe it and post on ebird, please include photos or audio for documentation until the bird's presence over an extended length of time is evident.

If this is of interest, hopefully you all can find time to see it.

Mike Thompson

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

Great documentation, Mike.  

Dave Leatherman

Ft Collins

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mike Thompson <m...@reardonsteel.us>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2025 2:18:15 PM
To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Red-shouldered Hawk (elegans), McElmo Canyon, Montezuma County

 

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