Dark Immature RTs?

[jobbyjob]

Is there such a thing as an almost solid black/dark- brown juvenile RT? I know haggard birds can be but is it possible in their first year? I ask because I have spotted three birds in my area this fall that are very dark morph birds but I couldn't tell if they were passage birds or not.

[colohen]

YES !!!!I have been wonting a dark-morf sense I seen the first one 8 years ago!!

[Grodus]

Jobbyjob,
Juvenile dark and rufous morph Westerns and juvenile dark ,intermediate ,dark intermediate,Harlans are dark their juvenile plumage. Westerns are easy . If it has a red tail, its a hag. Harlans can be more difficult. Harlans tail color can range from white to black , with or without some red blended in on the lower third of the tail when they are in adult plumage. A dark morph Halans hag with a blackish tail can be very diificult in the field to distinguish in the field from a juvenile with a dark brown tail , esp on cloudy days with poor lighting.
Depending on where you are located, you may have Westerns, Harlans, or both, as we do here in Arkansas.

grodus

[jobbyjob]

Thanks guys, I watched two of them today and I think they must be hags....I caught a red tint in their tails. I expected as much since the resident ornithology prof. at HSU said dark morphs are common up here. BUT I saw a very large hawk with a completely blonde head and chest and the belly was solid brown (nothing like a belly band)....it made the raven next to it look small....I would call it a ferug. but they are never up here. I really need a digital SLR with a telephoto lens so I can share the wealth! There are even more raptors here then in the central valley!(CA)

[jobbyjob]

Well, I saw that hawk again today and got a better look at it. It was a rough legged hawk, cool looking birds.

[Austin]

I had a Harlan RT not a good bird. One day it was fine and the next day it was crazy. Several other falconers have told me the same story, however I like you would love to try a mann one again because of thier beauty. I would guess also that they could be hard to keep track of in heavy wooded areas. I was hoping to find a white RT this fall but the cloest I came was a Kridders and it was small. In eastern Iowa there are two white RT's. One is about ten years old and the other is five. Well, maybe next year.

[Weasel]

I was out trapping RT's last Saturday with a new apprentice and we came upon a solid black RT. If it was an immy, we would of trapped it, but we could see a red tail. This bird was pure black except for the tail. It was at the South entrance to DFW Airport....

[frootdog]

While Weasel was TYRING to trap a RT.....We were hunting with a guy from Houston who was taking a break from trapping. We ended up bumping a passage RT and subsequently trapping it. We did all this while the bird we were hunting was feeding up on a rabbit kill. The passage hit the trap and we found that it had a gigantig crop on it. What a pig! 998 g. w/ a full crop!

[colohen]

Nice Frootdog!
There is a black in my area , no sigh of red on the tail and I have checked several times!!
I will have to wait to try a take as I am building a new mews and my falcon permit is full till the up-grade is complete , the end of this month. ;D
Then there is the question of weather she will still be there . I know it has to be a female , I don't think I have ever seen a hawk larger then this one !!