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Albino Hawk Illinois

13 years ago

Spotted June 18, in Central Illinois. Very impressive!

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Comments (10)

Charlie
13 years ago
There are a few species of white hawk that are not an albino. I have never seen one and I agree; very impressive.
tmff
13 years ago
Cool!

In central Illinois, it's most likely a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk, although some other Buteo species can also express leucism (such as Red-shouldered Hawk). Tough to say from this photo which Buteo you have.

Great find!
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I don't think your area is too open for song birds. How long have you been feeding in that location? Deep snow cover will push birds south, even if they winter in your area. Your hawk doesn't sound like an Accitper, the lean Hawks that routinely attack feeders. In my experience, Accipters rarely perch in the open, like on a barn for more than a brief amount of time. They are usually inside the tree canopy. Killing a weasel also suggests its more likely a Buteo Hawk, the big stocky hawks that mainly feed on rodents. Buteos are usually on open perches, along the higways, on telephone poles, on buildings, etc. Accipters usually need the element of surprise to catch a healthy adult bird. In the summer time, adult birds will usually mob them and pester then until they leave the area. This time of year, all the song birds are adults and wise. Accipters usually rely on the stealth, below the horizon attack this time of year. They fly really close to the ground and charge into areas they anticipate birds to be and grab any bird that doenst flush in time. I've seen them make attacks on my feeder when its empty. They build up speed and come around the corner the house ambush the feeder. They will make a J turn around the feeder pole and almost touch the ground (right where the Doves would normally be). They do this even without any birds present. Even using this strategy, I've seen doves escape, usually losing a few feathers. Being out in the open makes its hard for the Hawk to get the element of surprise with lots of eyes watching and no terrian to take advantage of. Now, in the summer time with fledgings everywhere, Accipters can catch them without the element of surprise. If you get alot of accipter attacks, you can try a decoy. Since the hawk usually goes for the last bird to move when attacking. Purple Martin landlords use these to reduce the chances for success. But I don't think your lack of birds is related to the hawk. I've seen our birds spot an accipter 200 yards away and freeze. A Buteo hawk could be perched 50 yards away and they would be indifferent to it, except when nesting.
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alan_la
13 years ago
leucistic Red-tailed Hawk, Is what this Hawk is
brookw_gw
13 years ago
Remarkable---and how fortunate to get a picture!!
beck1
Original Author
13 years ago
I happened to hear the grackles upset outside and looked toward the commotion. I almost stopped dead in my tracks. I took off running to the house, almost fell (I'm 65 no fun), grabbed by binoculars and camera, and came back out. Got a quick look through the binoculars and snapped 3 pics before he suddenly flew off. He was 3/4 football field away and I had small lens on my camera, the shot is not the best but at least I had confirmation so hubby wouldn't think I was nuts! Thanks for your responses, I do think it is a leucistic RTH.
Aurore
13 years ago
What appears to be a belly band would indicate it's a red tailed hawk. We used to have one around here. That white coloration stood right out in the trees.
tmff
13 years ago
Beck1,

In the winter (Nov-Apr'ish) in your area, a white-headed hawk such as this could be a Krider's Red-tailed Hawk or a light-morph Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk. By June, however, they're back at their breeding grounds. Had this photo been taken in winter, I'd have to consider them in the case of a white-headed hawk like this one. Since this is summer, a leucistic bird is more likely.

Just wanted to share that info with you! If you (or anyone else reading this) are curious about these subspecies, I have included a link with info on each one.

Here is a link that might be useful: ABA Journal- Krider's
tmff
13 years ago
And now the light-morph Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk...

(I have seen several individuals of the dark-morph variety wintering near my home- amazing birds)

Here is a link that might be useful: ABA Journal- Harlan's
beck1
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks everyone for your comments and help, also to
TMFF for the links to the Krider's and Harlan's Hawks. I think the pic 1C on the Krider link looks like what I saw on my bird. Through the binoculars I could see the dark feathers at the belly.
Very interesting!
tmff
13 years ago
I found it interesting too. Your bird is very unique. Sure would like to see the rest of the bird (upperside and tail).

There is a leucistic Red-tailed hawk near my home and it is bright white all over with only some piebalding on the wing tips (visible only in flight). Your bird, however, seems to have many of the usual markings of a Red-tailed. Again, wish I could see more but it's awesome you managed to get a photo at all. Keep your eyes peeled for this guy!

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