ML73721311

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

From the river trail glancing south, I noticed a large dark bird flying over the prairie. Glassing the bird revealed an overall very dark raptor, with a distinct and extensive white tail base on both upper and lower parts. The underside of the wings appeared all dark. Obviously very broad paddle-like wing profile, with hands exaggerated forward like Red-shouldered, long tail, and bold white at tail base seemed to point to Harris's. Glassed with 8x42s for a decent time and further observed and photographed with my long lens. Seen with Adam McInroy. The bird was mostly in silhouette, but the overall shape of the wings, tail, and distinct tail base coloration pushed the Harris's ID. The bird continued to thermal up and then drifted south and out of view. Adam and I quickly made our way up to the dirt path near the wooden outhouse, but never saw the hawk again. Photographed. Post observation, photographs show rufous shoulder patches, yellowish cere, and hint of white to tail tips-additional field marks that were not apparent in the field.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 60D

Lens

TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

ISO

1000

Focal length

600 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/11.0

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

1072 pixels x 721 pixels

Original file size

92.58 KB