Hawk ID in New Mexico (1 Viewer)

Hi-
Maybe someone can help me with what is probably a pretty elementary birding question. I live about one hour south of the Colorado- New Mexico border and saw a hawk last night that I am having trouble identifying.
Large bodied, like a buteo, not a particularly long tail, light enitrely underneath on wings and body, no markings that I could see.
The most striking characteristic was it's dark head, brown but noticably reddish.
I thought I would surely be able to ID it with my guide, but I'm stumped. Forgive me, but I'm curious.
Thanks for your replies. I also am a new member so if I'm making a mistake, let me know.
Colleen

Hi Colleen and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

Not going to hazard a guess on your mystery bird, but I can assure you someone will be along shortly with some suggestions.

some sort of light morph Ferruginous Hawk maybe ?

Ferruginous is a possibility, but so is light morph Red-tailed Hawk.

The one constant about the birds we fail to identify--the ones that "get away"-- is a sense of frustration. Nearly as constant is the vow to look harder at the "right" parts next time.

Watch for rusty legs making a Vee on the underside of a flying Ferruginous (and not always present!).

Good Birding!

Phalarope