I've been asked what got me interested in birdwatching. It was definitely this, a lucky shot of a hawk which at the time I had no idea what it was or even how to narrow it down. In trying to find this out, I got introduced to a good group of birdwatchers in Colorado, and it set me on a path to have some skill at identifying birds, plus quite possibly an addiction to reference books on the subject.
My initial guess on this was that it was a Red-tailed Hawk. At first glance it seems like a reasonable possibility. The overall coloring is similar. The key though are the flight feathers - the big sturdy ones that make up the bulk of the wing's surface area. On a Swainson's Hawk, those feathers are dark and the covert feathers (near the "arm" bones of the wing) are relatively light. That is the biggest distinguishing feature for a hawk in flight. Red-tailed Hawks have dark coverts and light flight feathers. There is room for variation, but a Swainson's Hawk will usually have a dark hood and chest with a light throat patch and a banded tail. The first picture especially is a textbook example. It was taken near Berthoud, Colorado. The second photo is a different bird, found in the Pawnee National Grasslands in northeastern Colorado, and it shows a much darker variation.
Other fun facts about them, their diet consists primarily of grasshoppers though I have seen them carry off a snake. Their wingspan is a bit wider than otherwise similar hawks, making them better adapted for gliding and long flights. In fact, while some hawks only migrate down to Mexico for the winters, these continue all the way to Argentina to escape our winters.
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