Rare Bird Report #12-B-08

IDAHO RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

Species reported:  Broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus)

Reporter (please
include address, phone, e-mail):  Dave
Faike, dfaike@yahoo.com

Other observers:

Date and time of
record:  5/11/08 – 0900 hrs

Date report prepared:  5/11/08

Locality:  Lower Morgan Ck (N44 deg37.907min,
W114deg11.605min), Custer Co, ID 

Habitat:  Cottonwood/Willow riparian area next to open
grassy field, within steep-sided canyon

Conditions:
(weather, light, distance, optical aids, duration, etc.)  Scattered clouds, cool/crisp, low pressure
system beginning to move in.  Bird flew
overhead from perch to the NW and landed approx 150 yards away while I was
driving my vehicle.  As I continued
toward it, it spooked and flew SE behind me and in the direction I’d just come
from.  Unsure what species it was I
turned around and relocated the bird approximately ¼ mile from its original
perch and 150 yards in front on me.  When
I slowed down it flew to another nearby perch, briefly lit, then returned in
the NW direction back toward its original perch.  I again turned around and sighted the bird approximately 200
yards NW of its original perch.  I
stopped and glassed the bird for approximately 5 minutes until it flew from the
tree it was sitting in and immediately began flapping and soaring trying to get
up and out of the canyon.  I was able to
gain clear views of the side and back of the bird, then its underwing and
underbelly as it wheeled overhead approximately 250-300 yards above me.  When it reached an altitude less protected
from the wind it rapidy gained elevation and headed N.  The entire episode last approximately 10
minutes.  I used a pair of Bushnell 10x
Elite binoculars to view the bird.

Description of bird(s):
(size, colors, all field marks observed, field marks not seen)  I immediately wrote down the following notes
onsite just after the bird left the area: 
“Tail - broad B/W/B bands; mottled brown back; yellow legs;
small/compact; falcon-like malars; trailing edge of wing w/well-defined black
edge; brown-orange barred chest, underwing mostly white, extremely wary!”

Behavior of bird(s):
(songs, calls, interactions with other birds) 
Very wary.  Perched within middle
of cottonwoods as opposed to edge or top of tree.  During flight to SE it was harrassed by a pair of kestrels.

List similar species
and tell how you eliminated them:  
In this habitat and are two potential confusants:  Dark phase red-tail hawk.  The bwha was much smaller and more compact
and had obvious tail bands.  The other
possible confusant might be a norther goshawk. 
The goshawk is a big bird, a powerful flyer, has a really long and
barred tail, and typically shakes its tail after it lands.  This bird had a relatively short tail, was a
small/compact “buteo-like” flyer, had very bright white tail bands that
alternated with black tail bands.  

What is your
experience with this or similar species? 
I’ve seen 6 or so other broadwings in Idaho – in the P/W/E regions (this
is my first in C) - and many others in the Eastern US and Central America.  I’ve observed in the field every species of
raptor listed in the NGS, Audubon, and Sibley Guides and am extremely familiar
with those that occur or potentially occur in Idaho.