Mystery Birds

15 years ago

I live in the country on 5 1/2 mostly wooded acres, and I get lots of birds of many different types. Lately some big birds have been coming here off and on that I can't identify. They fly in circles over the property, so I think they're some type of hawk, or at least, something related. I can't get close enough to them to give you a description, so I've been trying to take a short video of them with my camera, since it records sounds. The have a ?call that they vocalize frequently while circling, and when they perch high up in a tree, they use a loud, harsh call, different from the circling call. I finally made a very poor video, filming into the morning sunlight, and I'm embarrassed to post it - halfway through it, I wasn't sure if I was actually recording anything, so I looked at my camera up close, and you see the ground at that point. You don't see a bird in the video, but you do hear the circling call.

Can anybody ID these birds from this call?

Thanks!

Sherry

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Comments (4)

tannatonk23_fl_z9a
15 years ago
Osprey?
DYH
15 years ago
Birds that fly in circles here are:

red-tailed hawk...lots of calling while circling; if not red-tailed, you may have other hawks like Cooper's Hawk, Red-Shouldered hawk, Broad-winged hawk.

Turkey vulture...usually quiet, very wide wingspan with feathered "fingertip" wings.

osprey ....usually over water, they catch their prey(fish) and hold them parallel to their body.

You can web search bird calls and listen.

If you have Turkey vultures, they are scavengers, looking for dead animals.

Hawks will go for mice, squirrels, rabbits, hummingbirds
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MissSherry
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, y'all!
After much research on the web, I think they're mostly likely juvenile swallowtail kites. I didn't see or hear them today - too bad!
Sherry
kallen305
15 years ago
Hawks will go for hummingbirds? I never knew that. What would make them want to single out the hummers vs. other birds. Just curious because I would think hummers are so quick that they would give a hawk a good run for their money.

I have turkey vultures all over the place where I live. Sometimes while driving home I can see up to three of them flying around near the highway looking for road kill.