Bird identity help

[Charles B]

Today I was bush-hogging a field of tall annual rye grass around my pond and about 100 to 200 feet from the martin pole. I kept noticing a shadow passing over, and then finally saw a crow-sized bird circling over the tractor--apparently agitated. It was mostly gray, but I noticed fairly prominent white on the upper rear surface of the wings. It soared in circles just overhead. Thinking I might be about to mow over its nest, several times I stopped the tractor to see if it landed in the grass. Each time I turned off the tractor, the bird disappeared overhead, but when I started back up, it resumed circling about 50 feet overhead. The closest image I could find was a Mississippi kite, but this bird did not have a prominently white head.

I don't know if it was upset because it had a nest in the grass, of if it was just that I was passing under its nest in the trees.

Any ideas? I'll try to get a picture.

[Dick Sherry]

It could have been a nighthawk that was feeding on insects that were being stirred up by the mowing. It would have long wings with white patches toward the end of each wing, and it has a streamlined shape. You could look at a picture on-line or look it up in a bird guide. Just a guess.

[Guest]

This thing sounds like what I have been seeing at our place. Similar to a mississippi kite, but no white head. I can only describe the white patches under its wings, they look like a boomerang. Bird is light gray in color. Sounds very familiar, never have noticed them here before either. Hope you can find out, let me know.

[Charles B]

It could have been a nighthawk that was feeding on insects that were being stirred up by the mowing.

It looked very similar, except the stripes were not as prominent, were only on the back, and went from medial-to-lateral rather than front-to-back. It might have been after insects, but it stayed about 50 feet above me. When we first moved here, we had a bunch of cattle egrets who followed me around when I mowed. They made mowing a pleasant chore, but they haven't been around for several years.

[Peggy Riley]

Charles you better be glad the cattle egrets went away! There are roosts here in Texas that have literally destroyed acres of trees. We see them every year and if I ever see a bunch of them sitting in the trees even looking like they want to make a nest I will just have to move them on..

Hope you ID your bird!
Peggy

[Charles B]

Of course when I went back out with my camera, the bird did not cooperate. It never got close enough again to see if it was the same bird I saw up close earlier; and I never got another view of its back. These are the two pictures I did get; I'm not sure they are the same bird, and I'm not even sure these two images are of the same bird; the wings sure look different.




But I did get a chance to watch some black vultures soaring in a group above. I had never noticed them before. Maybe I had better go check on my sheep.

[Charles B]

Charles you better be glad the cattle egrets went away! There are roosts here in Texas that have literally destroyed acres of trees. We see them every year and if I ever see a bunch of them sitting in the trees even looking like they want to make a nest I will just have to move them on..

Hope you ID your bird!
Peggy

I understand the egrets roosted near Tuskegee, several miles away. They were fun to watch--so long as they didn't sleep in.

[~Patrick~]

Check online or a birdbook to see if it is a marsh hawk. The males are grey and the females are brown. It could have been a male marsh hawk, also known as a northern harrier.

Patrick

[Charles B]

Check online or a birdbook to see if it is a marsh hawk. The males are grey and the females are brown. It could have been a male marsh hawk, also known as a northern harrier.

Patrick

Sure looks like a possibility, but the white on its back looked more like a stripe on the back of the wings rather than just a white area on its back. One of the articles I found said it is a ground nester, which might explain the apparent agitation while I was mowing. If so, I hope I didn't mow over its nest.

[Guest]

We have several thousand egrets that appear in the spring. They follow the farmers in the fields as they plant picking up frogs, mice, snakes, and whatever else in on the move. We have a ski boat and about dark here they come. They roust on the islands at the Lake (Lake Barkley). We have almost hit on or two heading back home while in the boat.

[Charles B]

We have several thousand egrets that appear in the spring. They follow the farmers in the fields as they plant picking up frogs, mice, snakes, and whatever else in on the move.

That is what I remembered of them. It made bush-hogging almost fun. I suppose I would have felt a little different if several thousand were roosting in my yard instead of just visiting in small groups.

BTW A friend of mine who is a real wildlife expert happened by the other day. I described the bird's behavior and showed him my pictures. He said he thought it was most likely a Mississippi Kite. I hope it shows up again, because it provided as much entertainment as the Egrets used to do. And I was happy to learn that they eat mostly insects, and are not a threat to the Martins.

[Guest]

I think what your pictures show is an immature red tailed hawk. I am basing this on the dark bands on the wings and the coloring change from the head to the throat to the chest, etc. The tail appears to have a red tinge in one of the photos. Take a look at;
http://www.virtualbirder.com/cgi-bin/vb ... at&BAND=hi

And so here is another $0.02 worth.