Gray Hawk in Maine? (1 Viewer)

[Chuck23]

Say I'm not a bird person but I'm pretty sure I saw a Gray Hawk in Bremen Maine this morning. From what I found when I looked it up it's way out of it's normal range.it that's what it was Any thoughts on what this bird might be? It landed pretty close to me, it was gray all over with a distinctive white line across the inner tail.

Thanks for any info;
Chuck

 

[jmepler]

Hi Chuck, welcome to birdforum.

Take a look at the male Northern Harrier. They are gray, and have a white rump patch.

Another option would be an adult Cooper's Hawk. They would have a gray upper side. In breeding season they will flare their white undertail coverts giving you the impression of a white base to the tail.

Gray Hawk would be unheard of in Maine. Either Northern Harrier or Cooper's Hawk would be infinitely more likely.

 

[Chuck23]

Hi Chuck, welcome to birdforum.

Take a look at the male Northern Harrier. They are gray, and have a white rump patch.

Another option would be an adult Cooper's Hawk. They would have a gray upper side. In breeding season they will flare their white undertail coverts giving you the impression of a white base to the tail.

Gray Hawk would be unheard of in Maine. Either Northern Harrier or Cooper's Hawk would be infinitely more likely.

Hi thanks for the pointers. Definitely not a Northern Harrier. The bird I saw was a pretty uniform gray all over. Maybe a little 2 tone gray but not a significant difference in shade.... I didn't see the rump only front on but watched it for 5 minutes up pretty close. The underside single tail band was solid white and sort of V shaped. Not like the Coopers. Seen many of those and the bird I saw was not like any I have seen. I would say that it was an exact match for the gray hawk pic I looked up. Wish a got a picture but didn't. Hope to see it again but unlikely...
Thanks again
Chuck