Syracuse.com - Mottville woman asks: What kind of hawk is this?

[HuntingNY-News]

It showed up right behind her at her family's lakefront home on Skaneateles Lake in Mandana.

Sandy Buerkle, my neighbor in Mandana, wrote the following and included several pictures taken on a video.

She wrote: "I was at our family's lakefront in Mandana this afternoon and heard a thump behind me. I turned and here was this big bird. I was more afraid of it that it was of me, that's for sure! It stood there while I went for my camera. I got some great shots which I strung together and posted. What kind of hawk is this?

I forwarded the video to veteran bird expert, Laura Erickson. She wrote the following:

"It's a young, red-tailed hawk--it was hatched this year, so the tail feathers are not at all red. As these feathers fall out and are replaced in molt, the new ones will come in red. I can tell it's a red-tail by the distinct "belly band"--those darkish feathers wrapping around the belly."

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog