Walking through our residential neighborhood we frequently come across pigeons. So much so that when we round a corner and an unsuspecting bird flies off we automatically assume pigeon. But this time I noticed an unusual fan tail and an impressive wing span. That’s no pigeon I’ve ever seen. And what’s that he’s lugging around?
Square One Notes 
He’s lugging around dinner, Sandra. You found yourself a hunter.
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What a surprise it was Mark! I hope you’re doing well.
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Maybe a Hawk? Mark is right, he’s got food.
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Feasting on a fellow bird it appears! 🙃yikes!
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Nice capture. You’ve got a good eye, Sandra. It does look like he caught a bit of dinner. Have a great day.
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Thank you Chris! It looks like he caught another bird! He was up and at em early. I hope you’re doing well.
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Doing great here, Sadra My teaching week is over and I’m on to some creative endeavors. I hope you’re having a fun day.
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I’m happy to hear that Chris! Enjoy! We are doing a virtual Disneyland trip today thanks to my “travel agent”/Activities Director daughter who takes her job very seriously. Should be fun. We started yesterday on the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. Today is Pirates and hopefully Peter Pan. I hope you have a great day!
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OMG. She is awesome. Is this through the Disney website or something she came up with? You could market this to other families. Have fun with the pirates and Peter Pan.
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She is dreaming up these adventures on her own and then googles them and finds video clips for us to watch together. 🙂 I hope you’re doing well friend!
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Wow. What a great idea. That’s awesome. She’s quite good at this. So creative. Have fun at Disney! Things are well here. I’m into full weekend mode!
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What type of bird 😳😳. Nothing I recognize based on the bill and black eyes.
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I wish I was able to get more pictures. I was only able to get this one. But as it flew passed I noticed a fan like tail similar to a red tail hawk but the black coloring doesn’t seem to fit maybe a dark rough legged hawk? When I searched this part of Northern California those were listed as common to the area. I was hoping you and Ellen would know, LOL!
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I will check with Ellen. The Merlin app may help.
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Thanks Ted! I’ll look into that app too.
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The bird is the word, my friend.
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🤣Tony! Hilarious😂 good to hear from you! I hope you’re doing well.
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So…where did you photograph this ???? The closest is a Gundlachts’s Hawk. Your image shows a darker body but the bill, eyes, and yellow legs look correct. Except…. this is a Caribbean raptor. Mostly Cuba.
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Taken where we live in Lincoln, California residential neighborhood near a nature preserve. Caribbean Raptor!!! Think it’s a pet that escaped? It doesn’t look like any of the local hawks I was able to find on google.
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I downloaded that app. Thank you for the recommendation! I uploaded the pic and it came back with “no match found.” So this guy remains a mystery! I really like this app tho. It will be useful. Thanks again!
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Fabulous shot, Sandra, with such wonderful detail! And yeah, its got lunch.
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Thank you Pete! A monarch butterfly flew right by us on our walk today. I was too slow to catch her. Keeping an eye out though! In the spirit of your beautiful blog. Take good care.
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You will catch it next time, Sandra 🙂
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Cool shot! And he did find dinner.
And the mystery is on… what kind of hawk or falcon are you?
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The plot thickens Nancy! Donna has some good ideas. Dark Morph red tail perhaps? I’m keeping an eye out in hopes he/she will return. I’ll keep you posted. Take good care!
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Never seen one this color! Have a lovely day Sandra!
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Great shot, Sandra,oh my it’s got a meal…..the cycle of life.
I believe it is a dark morph of either a Red-tailed or Swainson’s Hawk. Search those two for California. Both look very close to your photo. Keep an eye out for him/her, when they hunt successfully in an area, they will return! 🙂
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Awesome! Thank you so much for your thoughts on this one. And I will most definitely keep an eye out in hopes of another sighting! Take good care!
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Brilliant shot, wow! I’ve never seen anything like this bird before, it’s colouring is so dark.
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Thank you Chrissie! It was a thrill for me too. I’ve never seen a bird like this either.
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