Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
First spotted by KGE as it was circling almost directly above us while we were scoping the first pond on your right as you drive into Wood Duck. We watched the bird for the next ~5 minutes as it slowly gained altitude and then drifted NW and out of sight. Interestingly, it was closely accompanied by an adult borealis RTHA for the entire period of observation. There was a noticeable movement of raptors across the region today so I think this bird is likely long gone. After looking into this ID issue some more, it seems like this is the most precis taxa that I can use. Western (calurus) and Northern (abieticola) RTHA both have dark morphs that look like this and are likely impossible to confidently identify to the subspecies level in the field. Either way, this striking individual was a privilege to encounter in central Ohio.
Technical information
- Dimensions
- 1170 pixels x 959 pixels
- Original file size
- 66.57 KB