Hi. This is my first spring as a birder. I took up the hobby with the new
year and have been very gratified on many different levels. I am antsy
about trying to learn as much as I can before the trees fill out and the
birds really start arriving. However, I have encountered one major source
of frustration (among many minor sources): raptor identification.
Specifically hawks. I have been privileged to see a ton of hawks, either at
work at the National Cathedral or from my own backyard in Arlington. If
there is a hawk "visiting" my feeder, I know that it is probably a Cooper's
or a Sharpie, but then I get a good look and it really doesn't look like
either. I seem to get greast looks at these magnificent birds, positively
id them according to as many field characteristics as I can think of, only
to find myself doubting and never feeling sure that my id was correct.
For example, Saturday at Dyke Marsh, I saw a gorgeous hawk soaring high. I
consulted my field guide and came to the unmistakable conclusion that it was
a Broad-Winged Hawk...only to find later that a Broad-Winged Hawk is highly
unlikely in early March and that everyone else at Dyke Marsh that day was
seeing Red-Shouldered Hawks.
How do you ever feel comfortable IDing these birds? Any tips would be highly
appreciated. I am tired of listing Hawk sp. everytime I go out.
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