Thank you for your input and this is why I'm asking for help. This is not a small bird. It's the largest hawk-like bird I've seen other than eagles at a distance or vultures. It was the size that first drew my attention to it. On our property, we always get Cooper's hawks. They make nearly a daily hunt at our feeder area so am very familiar with their sizing and this particular bird is easily half again as large as the largest Cooper's I've seen, perhaps twice that size. It is ALWAYS drawn to the pond, totally ignores the birds at the feeders, and they do not appear afraid of it, and instead of flushing from their cover (vines on old trees and large junipers around the feeders) just go about their business. Yes, it's the same bird each time. I'm not seeing one bird take the fish and photographing the other. It was eating the fish when we got the photo below. We are under a very heavy snow cover and rural, with lots of ponds in the area but since our rivers are frozen over, it's a given the ponds are too. Water and fish would be scarce and lots of animals are drawn to our pond since the heavy spring flow keeps it thawed almost perpetually. I could appreciate a fishing bird showing up here under these circumstances when it wouldn't normally frequent our property. The feathers on the back of this bird are dark, with only blotches of white when its back is to you, there is no pattern you can discern other than the faintest suggestion of a barred tail and it's is a muddy brown/grey over dark grey. I'm not looking for a 'rare' bird, but accuracy since I submit birding data and I'd sure like to get this one correct, or I'd just have to log it as unknown.

The bald eagles greeted me for the start of the New Year. I walked past the parking area and up the driveway with the first dog and the screaming and cackling began. It was loud and they had to be close. They were--about 100 feet away and about 80 feet up a tree. An adult--with all its white plumage--and an immature bald eagle sitting next to each other. Another adult had flown off--probably after hearing me open the garage door. While walking the second dog, I heard a crack from a tree on the other side of the house. The other adult must have landed there and took flight again. While on that side of the house, I heard a white-throat singing its song. Then a red-belly called and finally an eagle again. The red-bellies are here all year; the white-throats are here for the Winter as are the eagles. Happy New Year.

first note, the sun was almost directly overhead and I was looking up at the bird (sun was behind me at a few degrees off top and the bird was at about 70 degrees which means he would be somewhat shadowed. I really tried to ID the bird. I looked closely at its head, flight feathers, tail, It looked like a Turkey Vulture except I didn't see any white and it looked like it had a head about the same color as the body... At the Chattanooga nature center, they have two red tails that are not releaseable and in a cage (way too small if you ask me) The biggest one is only a bit smaller than the Eagle in the next cage (much bigger cage) and it (red tail) had no white that I could see. it is an old bird and it has light feathers but no white. After seeing that captive red tail, I tend to agree that the big bird I saw was a red tail. one thing for sure, if its a red tail, its not going too far away and I should get the chance to see it again. Here is a link that might be useful: Photos from the edge, of Tennessee

>>Shanachiel, it's the "Dorothy" rule of birding (from the >>>Wizard of Oz : ) Ok, what does that mean exactly? LOL No place like home? If only a Snowy Owl and saw whet would show up and a barn owl take up residence in my barn, I'd be quite content! What's interesting is we are about 20 miles east of the Hudson River but there are extensive wetlands in the area...I saw a bald eagle flying east away from the river one morning several years ago and never forgot that sight- the wingspan - wow! Sometimes Golden Eagles winter just north of me at a glacier pond but I don't think there have been any sightings yet this season. I tried on numerous occasions to try to see them last winter. Guess I am really hooked now! I'm definitely going to be spending more time at that swamp..... If you back out of the eagle photo page, you'll enter my main bird gallery from an afternoon at the Hudson Valley Raptor Center. Several of their resident rehabbed birds (who are used to being "on display" for educational purposes) are presented for a photo op. To be able to get fairly close and look in to their eyes..... Here is a link that might be useful: HUDSON VALLEY RAPTOR CENTER