[TN-Bird] Possible Northern Goshawk

From: Daniel Moss <dmoss5@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2011 21:35:33 -0400 (EDT)
1 Nov 2011  7:15am
Fort Campbell
Montgomery County, TN

This morning I was traveling back to the office after conducting a fall quail 
covey count and noticed a raptor dive into a field fairly close to the road. 
The shape immediately caught my attention, so I pulled over and got my 
binoculars out. The bird then did what I would best describe as an arcing-dive 
where it flew up from the ground about 8-10 feet and then dove back towards the 
ground. I could see a long tail, which made me think Northern harrier or 
accipiter. The bird sat on the ground a couple of minutes before it got up and 
flew to my left (west), without any prey, giving me great lighting and looks. 
What struck me was how large the bird appeared and how the broad, Buteo-like 
wings did not match with the long tail. The size of the bird appeared bigger 
than a female Cooper's hawk. And the bird appeared very dark overall with a 
dark back and lighter underside with dark streaks. Head color was dark and it 
had no moustachial stripe or superciliary line. There was a little white at the 
base of the tail on the sides, but it did not extend across the whole base like 
a harrier. I did not notice any tail bands, since I was concentrating on 
looking more at the head. I did not hear any vocalizations. The bird flew over 
a small tree line and I lost sight of it.  

By shear size it would appear that it was an immature Northern goshawk, but I'm 
concerned about the lack of superciliary lines which most field guides show. I 
would love to hear some feedback from anyone familiar with goshawks. Thanks!

Daniel Moss
Clarksville, TN
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[TN-Bird] Possible Northern Goshawk

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