Accipiter identification

This from a report on the internet: The Identification  of North American Accipiters.

Seventy man- years of watching and trapping distilled herewith : How to, and how not to, identify accipiters. Helmet C. Mueller, Daniel D. Berger and George Allez.

This you will not find in this article: Wing shape, wing holding, and wing movement. In other words, the article is about a dead specimen or a live, hand held bird. The authors do write of the mechanics of wing speed compared to wing structure and wing length. I say, wing speed can vary, depending on many factors. However, wing speed is only a small part of wing action.

The take-away: A very interesting, informative article. It will open the eyes of many birders. However, this article, scientific paper, is not about hawk watching. NB.

Raptor solving

 I will be posting some comments on raptor solving photos from whatbird.com. This does not violate my rule— I will not analyze your photograph for you and I will not analyze my many photos of NG for you. I prefer to let you stew in your raptor problems of identification. And will have a lengthy essay on the subject. In other words, we are dealing with third- party photographs.

Whatbird.com posted NOV. 21 2020. Sharp shinned Hawk? Sacramento, California, by Aiden. As of now only two people commented. Possibly no more will comment because the top gun has made his answer to the question. Tony Luekering is affiliated with the web site and is thought as an expert, he is not an expert on raptor identification. But, let me walk it back, in the field he may be an expert. I say that raptor identification from photos of raptors in flight can be difficult and many time I will lay off the question of — What species. Maybe Tony should have not tried to nail the species. This photo in question is not a Cooper’s Hawk. It is a Sharp- shinned Hawk. However, I should walk it back, it is possible to be a Goshawk. They are basically the same structure. But, some, maybe most Sharp- shinned Hawks have a “waist”. This bird has no waist. It is, therefore is, not a Cooper’s Hawk. Caution — be very aware of what the comments state on this Whatbird.com website. NB.

Female Goshawk

 Female NG at about 100 feet altitude. The road leading into Skagit Regional Airport, very near the highway, which is Highway 20. NB.

Many Ravens

 Many Ravens were reported from the kitchen window. It was stated that there may have been 100 Ravens. I jumped up and caught the tail- end of the flight. There were 15 or more Ravens in tight formation and very low, heading toward Saint Mary’s Church, Anacortes. It was at 6 pm. And windy and raining. Here is my suggestion. If you live anywhere near the Anacortes Area, Monday morning spend time observing the sky, to try and pick- off a lift-off.NB. Oct.11. This is a good tactic. NB.

On Donald Trump

 Hollywood was all set to produce a movie on the life of Donald Trump, but the deal fell through. Why? Because Regis Philbin died. NB. 

I am Suspicious

This post is about photographs and photographers. It does not pertain specifically to birding or hawking. But, in this case it does. I am referring to the accipiter photograph on Whatbird, Sept. 27 2020, under the title Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp shinned Hawk. This photo, taken in South Florida was an accipiter, but not a Cooper’s Hawk. I am quite sure the accipiter is female,  because of the long wings. On this post, I will not relate why It is a NG. On my next post, I will analyze the photo.

Here are the questions I ask. 1– Who is the photographer. In other words, what is his personality, his character. 2- What was his motive for taking the photo. 3- What type of camera. What type of lens. 4- What was the altitude of the hawk. 5- what was the lapsed time of observation. 6- How was the hawk acting, or behaving. 6- What was the SIZE of the hawk.

Now, a general question to experienced hawk watchers and to scientists. What is the chance of observing an immature accipiter with a distinct white eye- line. What is the chance of observing an immature Goshawk with a facial pattern which is immature in texture, and containing a prominent white eye- line. NB.

Correction

 My last posting of Sept. 27 incorrectly stated the date of the Whatbird posting was Sept. 28. Correct that post to Sept. 27. NB.