IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:

Broad-Winged Hawk

HOW MANY:

1 male (?)

REPORTER:

Sonny Thomas
2198 Constantine Ave
Boise, ID 83704
208-322-2206

REPORTER EMAIL:

revsonny@msn.com

OTHER OBSERVERS:

Sandy Thomas
Contact info same as above

DATE REPORT PREPARED:

2-4-07

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:

2-4-07

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:

2198 Constantine Ave
Boise, ID 83704

HABITAT:

backyard

CONDITIONS:

We observed the bird for approximately 5 minutes at about 30 feet away. We were standing in the yard near the house and he swooped down into the yard and landed on our 6 foot high perimeter fence. The weather was sunny and warm at 40 degrees, no wind. The sun was overhead. He landed with his back to us, and his head turned to from side to side, so we got a good look at him.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:

Yes, later the same day

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:

Yes, later the same day

WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:

www.idahobirds.net
www.birds.cornell.edu

DESCRIPTION:

This bird belonged to the hawk family. He had a dark short hooked beak, he was about 13-14 inches long, glided into the yard, very majestic looking with broad wings. He had a very dark brown head, back and upper wing, and as he was sitting with his back to us, we could see a broad tail that had thick black and white stripes going across it. The white was very bright.

BEHAVIOR:

He swooped in low into the yard then came up and landed on the fence. We were actually watching the birds and squirrels in the yard because we had recently added another type of food to the yard, and we had a very small dog playing in the yard. Moments before the hawk arrived, the other birds and squirrels left the area. We picked the dog up out of the yard and put him in the house. The bird did not move during this time, it just watched us. After the bird flew away, the local birds and squirrels returned.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?

After observing this bird for the duration of his stay in our yard, we were curious as to what kind of hawk he was because we've never seen one with this kind of coloring or markings on his tail. After awhile we searched hawk types on the Internet and found a picture of a hawk with identical markings at www.idahobirds.net

HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?

A similar species that we eliminated is called a Red-shoulderd Hawk. We eliminated it because the bird we saw was definately dark brown with no reddish coloring on it, and the stripes we saw on the tail were definitely thick and even, black and white.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):

We are casual watchers of birds, spending a significant amount of time in the Birds of Prey area as well as the Owyhee desert area. We have taken several BSU workshops on the local wildlife and birds as well as help band Peregrin Falcons with the Bureau of Land Management.

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:

We do not necessarily consider ourselves "birders", nor claim considerable expertise, however, we do feed, watch, and can generally identify the local birds in our yard, as well as the different hawks in the surrounding area. We have never seen this hawk before.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:

None