An American kestrel in the thick fog from the other day.Submitted by FGoose t3_101b4vq in philadelphia
FGoose OP t1_j2mipm2 wrote
Reply to comment by hexadevil in An American kestrel in the thick fog from the other day. by FGoose
This is 100 percent a male American kestrel. There is a nesting pair at the park year round. The coloration is that of a kestrel as well as the call and the size. I know the lighting in the pic isn’t great and his plumage is puffed out but I assure you that you are incorrect.
hexadevil t1_j2mjp6f wrote
Fair enough. He looks big in the pic and the notch in the tail could just be the way he’s sitting. The notch is usually the giveaway that it’s the hawk. They are pretty hard to tell apart unless you see the bird in the air.
FGoose OP t1_j2mkcmx wrote
No worries! Raptor identification can be particularly difficult especially with regional variants, dimorphism, similar plumage, etc. I still have difficulty differentiating sharp shin and Cooper hawks. Just a few weeks ago I mistook a Merlin for a kestrel on a rainy day.
Birding can be a really challenging hobby.
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