SE Colorado Birding: Dark morph Red-tailed Hawk

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Dark morph Red-tailed Hawk

Dark morph Red-tailed Hawks, a western subspecies, are not seen very often around here so it is always interesting to see one. According to The Sibley Guide to Birds of Western North America both dark and intermediate morphs combined "account for up to 20 percent of local popoulations in western North America. Today I saw this one flying in the Canon City area.

The reddish colored tail can be seen by double-clicking on the photo though the detail in this photo is not very crisp (it was flying several hundred feet away and I used the full 12X of my digital camera to get this).
SeEtta

Labels: birds, dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk, hawks

Why bird southeast Colorado?

From our high montane areas to the riparian areas along the Arkansas River as it exits Colorado, southeast Colorado offers birding opportunities for beginners to those serious birders who seek out the less common species. We have great shortgrass and sandsage prairie birding including public areas on the Comanche National Grasslands. We have wetlands including playa lakes (playas are important shallow, depressional wetlands that provide essential habitat for waterfowl and many other bird species). We have small lakes (such as Lake Cheraw north of La Junta)and large lakes (such as John Martin Reservoir that encompasses 35 square miles) that host an impressive diversity of bird species. And we have large expanses of pinyon-juniper woodlands with their special birding opportunities.

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