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Here are three I saw yesterday. I think I know what they are; see whether you agree with me.

Nr. 1 Harris Hawk 

 

Nr. 2 Merlin

 

Nr. 3 White-tailed Kite

 

Texas:

Here are three I saw yesterday. I think I know what they are; see whether you agree with me.

I agree on all three - nice shots.

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Randy

Same here

Oh, bugger. I'm jealous.  Where in Texas were you?  At one point during the summer, there was a Harris Hawk sighting near Dallas.

I saw 2-3 Merlins and two White-tailed Hawks in Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

http://www.fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=21521 

 

Several Harris's Hawks can be found close to Galveston off Rt. 6 in Hitchcock, Texas. Take Flamingo Isles Blvd. After you cross the bridge, check out the trees on the right hand side over the swampy area.

I suspect that what I saw the other day at the Refinery in Baytown may have been a Merlin chasing a Red-tailed hawk.  I did not get a very good look at the small bird but it was darker than the Krestels that usually stay during Winter.

The bird I saw was very vocal with high pitched calls.  I don't recall every hearing a call like that from a Krestel.  Does anyone know the normal call of a Merlin in comparison to a Krestel?

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/

Jim Penny:

The bird I saw was very vocal with high pitched calls.  I don't recall every hearing a call like that from a Krestel.  Does anyone know the normal call of a Merlin in comparison to a Krestel?

I just listened to them both several times on the Stokes CD.  The answer isn't simple.  I would say "on average" the Kestrel is higher pitched, but the Merlin can be either clearly lower or at least as high, possibly higher.  IMHO unless the Merlin was in its lower range, separating these in the field would be difficult unless you had heard both species many times.

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Randy

RJP:

Jim Penny:

The bird I saw was very vocal with high pitched calls.  I don't recall every hearing a call like that from a Krestel.  Does anyone know the normal call of a Merlin in comparison to a Krestel?

I just listened to them both several times on the Stokes CD.  The answer isn't simple.  I would say "on average" the Kestrel is higher pitched, but the Merlin can be either clearly lower or at least as high, possibly higher.  IMHO unless the Merlin was in its lower range, separating these in the field would be difficult unless you had heard both species many times.

Thanks.  I was hoping for an easy secondary method of id'ing the bird since I did not have my binoculars with me at the time and the bird was moving pretty fast chasing the classic morph of a Red-tailed Hawk.

If it was a Krestrel, I would have to say that it was a female.  I haven't worked out in the Field since July, so I don't know if the Krestrels have arrived yet.  The observations of Texas on this string prompted the idea that it could have been a Merlin.

 

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/

I have seen merlins chasing larger hawks on several occasions. Merlins look more "brown" than kestrels and look larger. Kestrels are already in Texas.

Thanks for the info on the Krestrels being here. 

We usually have several pairs winter in the Refinery.  I just haven't had the chance to see them yet.  The body of the bird from the other day was very brown, but I didn't get a chance to see any other marks as the bird left the area.

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/

Here is ID problem along with an update concerning Raptors at the Baytown Refinery.

1.  First, I worked outside for the last two days so finally have had a chance to see who is visiting.  The American Krestrels are indeed present.  Saw two males yesterday and two males and female today.

2.  Nice big Red-tailed Hawk in the classic morph.

3.  Then, saw one that gave me a problem.  There was a female Krestrel nearby and this bird appeared at least twice as big.  It appeared to be an Accipiter.  It had heavy streaking on the chest which I believe extended halfway down the undersid of the bird.  The most noticeable thing was that the eyes were surrounded by lighter coloring and gave the impression of an eyering.

I'm going to do some additional research in some of my other Guides, but I thought I would throw this out to the Forum to get some suggustions or possibly comments concerning a similar "eye-ring" observation.

 

Thanks

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/

For the best places in the US to observe migrating hawks (by the way two of them are in Texas) follow this map link: http://enature.com/outdoors/hawkwatch/

Listen to American Kestrel: http://enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=american%20kestrel

Listen to Merlin: http://enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=merlin

Listen to Harris Hawk: http://enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=harris%20hawk

 

 

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