Broad Winged Hawk Versus Red Shouldered Hawk

Well, with my post and Craig's post and so many different comments I decided I had to get it clear in my head. The comments are divided on whether they both are Red Shouldered or Broad Winged. Both birds were photographed in the Seminole, Florida area. I almost think everybody agrees they are the same, just disagree which one they are. So to try to be a player in this learning game on Thursday I went and bought myself a Sibley Guide to Birds. While I was at the book store I also bought the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. More is better for me. I was already consulting 2 field guides, so now I will be consulting 4 field guides. I probably will still need help telling me the exact spot to look for the difference in birds when 2 are really close in appearences.

With all that said. In my photograph I see the tail bands that Sibley's is showing to be the Juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk. To add to the confusion a Florida Red Shouldered Hawk looks different than in other areas. The National Geographic even says "closely resembles juvenile Broad Winged Hawk". And on top of everything else, it would be rare for the Broad Winged Hawk to be in Seminole, but the Red Shouldered would be right for the area.

I posted the photograph above, as fun. Check out my first post of the tree the hawk was in. Darla first found a bird in the top of the tree, that I had not even noticed. Because it was small, at least one comment said it was a Mockingbird. I wonder if it was the hawk, just in the top. He sure does appear to be small in this photo, and this one I know it was the hawk, because he never moved as I got closer to him. He just turned and watched me walk around under him.