visitor

I walked into the living room from the kitchen about 3 PM yesterday when I looked up and out the bay window at the birdbath to see this amazing beautiful creature looking back at me.

I've glimpsed it four or five times in the yard as it took flight out of one of the trees from my sudden appearance and banked low over the 13 acre field and disappeared into the tops of the trees on the far side.

This is the second time I have seen it in the birdbath. The first time, a couple of weeks ago, Marc called me quietly to come look but my slow movement into the room alerted it. It looked directly at me and then flew off.

The minute I saw it this time I froze and called quietly to Robin to quietly bring me my camera. I was standing about as far away from the window as I could be in that small room and shooting through the (dirty) window and screen. I had to use the largest magnification but at least I finally got some pictures of it.

It stayed for several more minutes, dipping it's head now and then to drink but as I tried to creep a little closer it spread it wings and flew off, chased now bravely by a crow that had been sitting in one of the overhead branches not being so brave as to try and chase it off from the birdbath like they do the smaller birds.

Can anyone identify this hawk for me? Red-tailed hawk? It's tail feathers are not really very reddish.