Turkey Vulture (TUVU)

Absolutely in my top 3 favourite birds – Seeing Violet come with CFW was the highlight of the semester for me! Their naked head is so unique. The last time I saw one “in the field” it had been freshly hit by a car 🙁 I pulled over to see if I could collect it for specimen class (unfortunately it was not salvagable) and a very kind woman pulled over to help me because she thought it was a puppy ?

Osprey (OSPR)

I have never seen these guys in the field, but I dig the fluffy head feathers! It’s fascinating to know they can fly 2700 miles in 13 days

Bald Eagle (BAEA)

I have also unfortuntely never seen a bald eagle in the field, but they are clearly very recognizable! I did spend a lot of time watching the eagle nest cams in high school!

Northern Harrier (NOHA)

Apparently they have sexually dimorphic eye color as juveniles, which is so interesting

Cooper’s Hawk (COHA)

Broad-winged Hawk (BWHA)

I’ve never kept my eyes open enough to look, but my dad lives fairly close to Hawk Mountain in PA, so I know their unmistakable call!

Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA)

This was the singular hawk I could identify before this class. There was a pair nesting on a light post in the field my high school marching band practiced on. Their underside is unmistakable!

American Kestrel (AMKE)

I have never seen this one in the field and I had no idea how small they are!

Peregrine Falcon (PEFA)

Another fun one from the CFW gang!

All photos and fun facts from allaboutbirds.org