I received some pictures from a birder i know casually -David Chorlian,who , along with wife Helen, saw a raptor bathing in the Upper Pool on Thanksgiving Day. Right now, i am in a friendly debate over the hawk's identity which isn't unanimous...yet. My slight leaning is Northern Goshawk but a few friends think Coopers and or Northern Harrier. I am still waiting for more details and opinions. The photograph's quality isn't the greatest since it was taken from a long distance and photoshopped. But in the meantime or anytime, if you happen to be in the heavily wooded Ravine area or the pools (or Midwood, Lullwater) , keep your eyes open; that or not in Prospect,Goshawks love to stay reclusive in heavily wooded habitats. Drop me a line if you are successful seeing any Red-tailed sized bird with a quite L-o-o-o-n-n-g-g -g wide tail. (Peter Dunne of "Hawks in Flight" calls the big raptor " a flying stovepipe" cause of its wide big body and almost equivalent tail width). Goshawks are a tad larger than Red-tailed Hawks; Cooper's Hawk is slightly larger Crow size. (last year there was an immature goshawk frequenting the Lullwater /Breeze Hill area ,around the feeders)
