Backyard and Beyond

Sometimes all you have to go on is a distant shape. So today, we have three main types of raptors soaring in the sky for you. These three species were all seen the same day, by the way. First a Buteo, with long, broad wings, and a relatively short tail.The light suddenly reveals the red tail and gives away the identity here. (However, Red-tailed Hawks don’t have red tail feathers until their first birthday.)Wings are still broad, but shorter proportionally than the Buteo. The tail here is longer, too.Accipiter. The large head suggests a Cooper’s Hawk rather than a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Now note here the sharp tips to the relatively narrow wings. Falco: this Peregrine is missing some feathers in both wings, a sign of molt.This final picture was taken the next day, also in Green-Wood. There are three soaring Red-tails here with an Accipiter passing through.