Posted by Lindy Martin on June 23, 2013 at 9:11 PM
This nest was high up a birch tree about 300 feet from a lake. Cottage country, dirt roads and in dense foliage. My guess was a red shouldered or broad wing. This is in eastern Ontario. The photo is not great as I was on the road and the chicks (2) were pretty high up. Thanks in advance.
There's not enough detail in the photo as posted. How about a tight crop of the baby bird? I caution that even then an ID may be impossible. Probably the simplest ID would be to go back and wait until a parent appeared.
Jim DeWitt
Posted by David Graham on June 25, 2013 at 12:04 PM
Jim's caution that definitive ID is impossible is spot on! But...fools rush in where.... So here I go, playing' the odds:
....stick nest in deciduous rather than coniferous tree...
.....Relatively large eyes, cere, and width of gape ( judged from its visible right half above the twig across the lower face) at this stage of development with pigmented crown feathers showing through the grey down...
...are suggestive of a nestling Buteo sp. rather than a nestling Accipiter sp. ( the only realistic dichotomy to consider in this case).
Although I'd suspect that most red-tails will have fledged by now at the latitude of Gananoque , I'll admit that red-tail, broad-winged, and red-shouldered should all be in the running.
So...let us know, please, when you identify the parents' species.
Discussion
2 repliesThere's not enough detail in the photo as posted. How about a tight crop of the baby bird? I caution that even then an ID may be impossible. Probably the simplest ID would be to go back and wait until a parent appeared.
Jim DeWitt
....stick nest in deciduous rather than coniferous tree...
.....Relatively large eyes, cere, and width of gape ( judged from its visible right half above the twig across the lower face) at this stage of development with pigmented crown feathers showing through the grey down...
...are suggestive of a nestling Buteo sp. rather than a nestling Accipiter sp. ( the only realistic dichotomy to consider in this case).
Although I'd suspect that most red-tails will have fledged by now at the latitude of Gananoque , I'll admit that red-tail, broad-winged, and red-shouldered should all be in the running.
So...let us know, please, when you identify the parents' species.
Dave Graham
Estelline, SD