UID
Digital Object Type Rare birds documentation form
Content DM Link https://n2t.net/ark:/87292/w9sb3x18h
Type Text
Description Records Committee review of a Ferruginous Hawk at Benton Township in Fremont County, IA on January 17, 1989. Includes a record review document with votes, field notes of the sighting, and a documentation form submitted to the committee.
Related Genres Administrative records Field notes
Sort Date 1989-01-17 - 1993-08-05
People / Organizations
Time 3:30 PM
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Collection Iowa Ornithologists' Union | MS 166
Box 9
Folder 1
Contributing Institution Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives
Creator / Author Silcock, W. Ross
Contributors Iowa Ornithologists' Union Records Committee
Topics Bird watching Ornithology Ornithology--Societies, etc
Birds Ferruginous Hawk
Locations Benton Township
Map
Verbatim Locality Benton TWP, Fremont Co., IA.
Location Remarks The documentation forms do not include georeferences
Habitat Open Missouri riverbottom; soybean stubble fields
Extent 8 pages
Language(s) eng
Bibliographic Citation
Information Withheld
Individual Count 1
Occurrence Remarks The documentation form by Ross Silcock is the only one submitted and forms the basis of this record. | Elimination of similar species: See attached discussion. (After writing my field notes at the site of observation and returning home later I found the stnadard field guides most unhelpful. Dunne et al's discussion of Ferruginous was tremendous, indicating variation in Ferruginous Hawks, and especially in discussion of flight characteristics, 'jizz', and behavior [...] The only possibility which is realistic to consider is Redtailed [sic] Hawk, or possibly Rough-legged Hawk. While similar in 'jizz' to a rough-leg (long tail, flight with 'crooked' (=osprey-like) wings, darker mottling underneath, longish wings), Roughleg can be eliminated by the following characters - absence of characteristic underwing pattern, including significant wrist mark (Ferruginous should show this to some extent according to Dunne et al, but I did not see it; remember I did not see the underparts well), and method of hunting-I have never seen a roughleg fly this low over the ground for this long (about a mile) - much lower and more consistently so than a harrier. Regarding elimination of Red-tail - I really think it is easier to eliminate Red-tail than rough-leg based on 'jizz'. The tail was too long, was never spread, and wings were long than Red-tail's. Tail pattern and 'three points of light' combination also is never seen on a Redtail [sic], especially when viewed from above. (The similarity to Roughleg [sic] in pattern can be seen in the front end paper in Dunne et al). Habitat and behavior also are important - while Redtails [sic] are very common in Fremont County, they are definitely not common on the open Missouri bottomlands. Redtail [sic] is a bird of edge habitat. I always look closely at any buteo seen from October to April on the open bottomlands. I have never seen any other buteo fly as low to the ground for as long as this bird - when i say low, I mean 1-2 ft above the ground. At no time was the bird higher than 6', and that was when perched on possibly the lowest post for some distance. Even a Harrier will rise and fall while hunting. This bird stayed low, in the manner of a hunting Golden Eagle (which I have seen in Western Kansas) - a point also mentioned by Dunne et al. Another point noted by Dunne et al and also shown in my sketch (purposely!) and, mentioned in my field notes was the osprey-like crook in the wings-while flying low over the ground. Dunne et al note that this is characteristic of a hunting Ferruginous. | The original documentation form event lasted from 15:30:00/15:45:00.
Occurrence Status present
Field Number 1989-05
Event Remarks Viewing Conditions: Perfect lighting - I was able to get 'up-sun' in my car for most of the observation, using 10x50 Binocs.
Supporting Documentation Dunne P. Hawks in flight: the flight identification of North American migrant raptors. Sibley D, illustrator; Sutton C, photographer. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Date Digital 17 May 2017
File Type image/jpeg
Hardware / Software Epson - sheet feed