Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

This light morph adult was unexpected as this species is very scarce in California at this time of year. The earliest migrants are not expected in the Central Valley until March from wintering grounds in western Mexico. Most of the population winters in Argentina where they were decimated by agricultural use of certain pesticides. However conservation efforts to change the types of pesticides has paid off and this species has largely recovered.