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Albino Red-tailed Hawk



This morning from 8:55 AM until 9:13 AM I observed a white Red-tailed Hawk,
initially from 60 ft. using 8X binos, then from about 100 yards using a 40X
scope. The feathers were almost complety white. There was a slight brownish
wash on the top of the tail and to a lesser degree on the belly. Also a few
darker feathers at the neck but very scattered. In flight the bird appeared
completely white. It's eyes were of a grey-green color which I have never
observed in either adult or sub-adult red tails. The feet appeared greyish
but were almost concealed by the feathers on the perched bird. The beak was
somewhat lighter than in adult Red-taileds. Overall the bird when perched at
close range was not at "spectacular" (for want of a better word) as one
would expect of a white Red-tailed, but in flight it was striking.
This sighting was on Crab Creek Road west of Hendersonville and
0.4 miles east of the east entrance to Holmes State Forest. There are houses
nearby and I left while the bird was still in sight since I had begun to
attract attention of neighbors and motorists. The bird did not exhibit the
caution I usually see in this species and at first was well within "shotgun
range".
This is probably a migrant since such a bird would have surely attracted
attention if it had been in the area very long.
                                                              Reece
Reece 'n Judy Mitchell
Flat Rock, NC
rmitche2@tds.net