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Project Noah Nature School
Buteo swainsoni
Slightly smaller than a red-tailed hawk but similar in shape. They have a reddish or brownish bib on their upper chest.
Observed in irrigated hay meadows and along the Gunnison River and other major stream corridors in the Upper Gunnison Basin.
Hi Christy, thanks for correcting me. I had my doubts about my identification. We had seen a swainson's hawk earlier that day not far from there, and when we spotted this one I thought I saw a white rump patch when in flight which made me think harrier. Thinking back on it though, the wind was roughing up the feathers pretty good so I was probably just seeing white body feathers and perhaps some of the white undertail coverts. I will correct the identification. Thanks for helping me learn.
Hi Matt...you've got a Swainson's Hawk! These guys just returned to Colorado in the past few weeks from their wintering grounds in Argentina! Harriers are much smaller and more falcon-like in their shape. Nice spotting! Thanks for adding it to the Raptors of Colorado mission!
Spotted on Apr 24, 2012
Submitted on Apr 25, 2012
+2
