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RE: Broadwings in Conway



Well, I'm usually pretty good with the horse/zebra conundrum ("If you hear
hoofbeats, it's probably a...").

We thought they were Broad-wingeds because:

A)  they appeared to be considerably smaller than the usual suspects.
B)  they appeared to be remarkably lighter underneath.
C)  we thought the broad-banded tail was diagnostic.
D)  we didn't hear any red-shouldered hawk vocalization from these birds,
or for that matter, all day.

They were most likely Red-shouldereds because:

1)  they were sitting in a tree in a hardwood swamp.
2)  it's the wrong time of the year.  Too early, as Bill Hilton notes.
3)  it was a pair.  BWHs don't breed here, so it seems unlikely that a
transient pair would be in obvious cohort where breeding wasn't a
consideration.

On this occasion, we thought it was BWHs - notable because of reasons 1, 2,
and 3.  But we reserve the right to not bet the farm... ;-)


Stephen Thomas
stype@sccoast.net
Aynor, SC