Wild birds a threat?

[zovick]

I'd never heard of a white tailed hawk. I looked it up. Cool, They look similar to the Auger hawks from Africa. The internet says they are down in Southern Texas, but you had them up your way too?

@Tom @jeff kushner If it is a hawk with a white tail being seen regularly in MD, it is more likely a Northern Harrier, formerly called a Marsh Hawk than a White-tailed Hawk. The Harriers have white rumps but the rest of the tail is brown as opposed to the more obvious almost fully white tail on a White-tailed Hawk.

Of course, occasional sightings out of the normal range are possible if the birds have been displaced by heavy wind storms. For example, I spotted a Mississippi Kite in the Appalachian Mountains of northwestern CT years ago after one of the big hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. This sighting was verified by two top birders from National Audubon, so it wasn't a mis-identification.

The two do look similar, but it sounds as though you are seeing these frequently, so I would be surprised to learn that they truly were White-tailed Hawks, however nothing is impossible.

Here is a video of a Northern Harrier hunting in a field:

Northern Harrier Photos and Videos for, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

<p>The Northern Harrier is distinctive from a long distance away: a slim, long-tailed hawk gliding low over a marsh or grassland, holding its wings in a V-shape and sporting a white patch at the base of its tail. Up close it has an owlish face that helps it hear mice and voles beneath the...

www.allaboutbirds.org

 

[Tom]

@Tom @jeff kushner If it is a hawk with a white tail being seen regularly in MD, it is more likely a Northern Harrier, formerly called a Marsh Hawk than a White-tailed Hawk. The Harriers have white rumps but the rest of the tail is brown as opposed to the more obvious almost fully white tail on a White-tailed Hawk.

Of course, occasional sightings out of the normal range are possible if the birds have been displaced by heavy wind storms. For example, I spotted a Mississippi Kite in the Appalachian Mountains of northwestern CT years ago after one of the big hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. This sighting was verified by two top birders from National Audubon, so it wasn't a mis-identification.

The two do look similar, but it sounds as though you are seeing these frequently, so I would be surprised to learn that they truly were White-tailed Hawks, however nothing is impossible.

Here is a video of a Northern Harrier hunting in a field:

Northern Harrier Photos and Videos for, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

<p>The Northern Harrier is distinctive from a long distance away: a slim, long-tailed hawk gliding low over a marsh or grassland, holding its wings in a V-shape and sporting a white patch at the base of its tail. Up close it has an owlish face that helps it hear mice and voles beneath the...

www.allaboutbirds.org

Thank you for the education. There is always more to learn.

 

[Cathie G]

Well... I've seen a dove become very interested in my Russian from above. Of course a dove wouldn't be interested in eating him but she flew down and did circles walking on the ground around me and Sapphire very much checking him out. I think birds mistake torts for snakes and they will definitely check that out. I'm not so sure the dove would not have pecked him if I hadn't been there too. I always have a locked hardware cloth lid over my little guy when he's outside. Not even to mention cats, dogs, children, racoons and you name it.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Tammy. Stop being Silly.

lol...I remember...

 

[Cathie G]

lol...I remember...

Happy birthday. Ya made it another year!🍻

 

[crisevan9498]

I am so scare birds that eat others birds. They maybe hurt me so I just want to stay away them.