Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

The Surveyor

Buteo jamaicensisPerched on an obelisk. Wind-ruffled.Buteo jamaicensisUnruffled by us.Buteo jamaicensisAnd the namesake of an adult Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis. First year birds will not yet have red-colored tail feathers. But the tell-tale speckled V shape on the back (actually the wings) is another good field mark for the species.

hawk1The same bird, or just as easily another, since there are several resident Red-tails in Brooklyn, over the cemetery once the sun came out.

3 responses to “The Surveyor”

  1. Practically a yard bird out here. Still, nice to see them up close.

    1. O, here too. All over the city. If you don’t see one on a bird walk, that’s what’s unusual.

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