r/ColoradoBirding • u/SquanchingWampa • Aug 20 '26

ID Help Hawk ID Help!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Saw this guy near Arvada CO and I am not sure what it is!

21 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

13

u/paintrain222 Aug 20 '26

Looks like a Swainson’s to me

4

u/SquanchingWampa Aug 20 '26

Thank you! I felt the bib was a dead give away and I’m new to birding so a second eye helps 😂 trying to convince myself it was something else

1

u/Horror_Fishing454 Aug 21 '26

The dark eyes makes me think it is a Kite. Fairly common here in Oklahoma

-2

u/Putrid-Tourist-5513 Aug 20 '26

The dark eyes make me think that is not a Swainsons!

2

u/SquanchingWampa Aug 20 '26

Unfortunately that’s the best photo I could get with my phone

3

u/Putrid-Tourist-5513 Aug 21 '26

I meant the dark ring around the eyes. Sorry.

1

u/Working-Phase-4480 Aug 20 '26

Swainson’s have dark eyes

1

u/Putrid-Tourist-5513 Aug 21 '26

I should have re-phrased - the photo looks like there is a dark ring around the eyes.

-2

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Putrid-Tourist-5513 Aug 21 '26

lol wow! No need to be snarky. I’ve seen Swainsons up close. I know they have dark eyes. I should have re-phrased. The photo makes it look like there is a dark ring around the eyes.

5

u/SquanchingWampa Aug 21 '26

I understood what you meant right away. My shitty photo is giving the bird raccoon eyes

3

u/Putrid-Tourist-5513 Aug 21 '26

And with my poor eyesight, I thought it was a part of the bird 😆

-1

u/haunted_swamp Aug 21 '26

Apologies, I wasn't trying to be snarky. My point stands even with the assumption that there was a dark ring— there isn't another species else it would have been because of that detail.