It's been an exciting two days at the hawkwatch!
Yesterday, October 18th, Anna spotted a juvenile light morph Swainson's Hawk circling above with Turkey Vultures and a Red-tailed Hawk. This West coast bird is a rare hawk for Virginia, and usually only comes this far east if they have gotten mixed in with other Buteos.
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| Swainson's Hawk (Julia Magill) |
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| Swainson's Hawk with a Turkey Vulture (Julia Magill) |
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| Swainson's Hawk (Julia Magill) |
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| Red-tailed Hawk (Julia Magill) |
Today's excitement was due to a Golden Eagle spotted by a visitor to the platform. It was rather far to the East but was close enough for binoculars, and multiple people were able to get a good look through the scope. Hopefully this sighting will be the first of many!
-Julia
