Rare Common Black Hawk returns to Canon City

Now Blogger.com is having problems and won't upload any photos.

A Common Black Hawk was reported by a local birder several days ago in Canon City. This sub-tropical hawk is a very rare species in Colorado with fewer than 10 documented sightings. This is actually the third year a Common Black Hawk, presumably the same bird, has been seen in Canon City.

Last year the bird stayed for about a month but came earlier. This year the Arkansas River, where it would feed, had a much higher flow due to both increased precipitation in the area and draining of a reservoir in the upper Arkansas for repairs. Since the nearest locations for these hawks is in west central New Mexico, they would be accustomed to lower water levels in the riparian areas that are their habitat. So I suspect this bird waited for the water level to go down before it stopped here.

I will post a photo when this service allows. SeEtta