This mornings birding had what I thought was at least 2 but possibly 3
immature hawks that I had trouble feeling 100% on my id.  The birds were all
apparently of the same species.  They were dark gray to brown streaked
individuals.  The back and wing mostly dark with light streaks, no sign of a
red shoulder patch at rest or in flight.  The face had a lightish streak
above the eyes.  The chest of one individual was mostly light with heavier
streaking across the lower chest area. The other had all streaked breast.
The tails were barred.  When viewed from behind with tail and rump viewed no
red, but a slight white bar across the rump area.  Legs were yellow, beak
yellow base.  After studying all my field guides and my Photographic Guide
to North American Raptors, I'm certain the white chested individual was a
Red-Tailed Hawk.  However, I'm not certain that the dark streaked individual
wasn't one also.  They seemed so similar.  The dark chested bird was the one
I had the best rump sighting of, with the light band. That characteristic is
shown for Red-Shouldered Hawk in Nat Geo.  It is pretty amazing to me that
these birds give me such a hard time after all.

Other wonders of the day included:
Pied Billed Grebe
Anhinga
DC Cormorant
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Wood Stork
Glossy Ibis
White Ibis
Black Bellied Whistling Duck
Mottled Duck
Blue Winged Teal
Black Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier (1 female)
Bald Eagle (2 adult)
Coopers Hawk
Limpkin
Sandhill Crane
Common Gallinule
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Forsters Tern
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Loggerhead Shrike
Fish Crow
Northern Rough Winged Swallow (1)
Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Meadowlark
Red Winged Blackbird (tried hard to make a bobolink, but couldn't)
Boat Tailed Grackle

Not bad for a stolen hour!
Life is good,

Alison Bishop
Sarasota, FL

______________________________________________________________________
FLORIDABIRDS-L Listserv mailing list information:
Policy,sub.info:   http://bkpass.tripod.com/FLORIDABIRDS-L.htm
Member photos: http://bkpass.tripod.com/floridabirds.htm
For archives:   http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/floridabirds-l.html
Set nomail: Click:  [log in to unmask] Set floridabirds-l nomail
Listowner: Click:  [log in to unmask]