Bird Board
Great Black Hawk
Posted by steve siegel
about 6 years ago
1 Comment
I wonder what effect the recently accepted sighting of an immature Great Black Hawk in Texas, and another sighting in Maine will have on the ABA countability of our Virginia Key bird. If the Maine bird is accepted as a legitimate vagrant, it would be hard to deny a Florida bird based on unknown provenance.
Comments
Incredibly, it was reported by ABA that:
"Close examination of the spread wing, specifically the unique pattern on the underwing coverts, established that this individual in Maine actually appears to be the same bird as the one recorded in Texas three and a half months ago."
Since Great Black Hawks can be seen in northeast Mexico, the Texas/Maine bird is not likely of unknown provenance, but rather a true vagrant.
Also, the Texas/Maine bird was of the Mexico/Central America group. The VK bird was of the South American group (see Robin Diaz' outstanding article elsewhere on the TAS website). The VK bird is not going to be countable, but I'm still glad I got a couple of chances to see it (and once even hear it!)
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