Hawk silhouettes, a surprise flower and a picture by Isabelle.

I got a good silhouette picture of a hawk today, so I thought I would do another "Hawk ID" post.


So, beginning birders, what type of bird is this?
If you want to go back and read my previous post about hawk ID's, clickity-click here.

Long tail. Short wings. Head extends far beyond shoulders, looking like a mallet.
Cooper's hawk.
Also, when you are watching a hawk fly away, (which is usually how you are seeing them) accipiters have a flight pattern of flap-flap-glide.

Short tail. Long wings. And of course, a red glow to the tail.
Red-tailed hawk.
The flight pattern of red-tails is soar-soar-glide.
Difference between RT and red-shouldered hawks in flight: Look for the white crescents on their wings.
Remember the rules of anatomy: Form equals function.
Cooper's hawks are forest hunters, so they need speed and agility to chase their prey (usually birds) through the obstacle course of trees. Hence the rounded wings and long tail (acts like a rudder)
Red-tails are more of a open area hunter, and are built to soar. Hence the long broad wings.

From a distance, this could be lots of things. But even at a distance, if it is tilting back and forth as it soars, you are looking at a vulture. And the lighter underwings are a good tip-off that you aren't looking at a bald eagle.
Differences between black/turkey vultures:
BV's are smaller than TV's, and have black heads versus the red head on the TV's. But if they are way up in the air, that isn't helpful.
But BV's have whitish primaries (the "fingers" on the wings)


And to add a bit of frivolity to this post, here's a quiz:
I found a flower in a surprising place today. Anyone want to guess what this is?

Scroll way down for the answer.

Yep, it's butter.
Why did I take a picture of butter?
It could be either:
A. It was just so cool, I had to. It's a floop of butter!
B. I was under the powerful influence of a spread with no trans-fat.
C. I am Blogzilla.

Finally, a picture of Elvis drawn by Isabelle:

Elvis in the middle (see the barring? What a smart girl.)
On the right, a dead rat on the feeding block.
On the left is me, looking in through the door slats.