Eyeing Hawk

As I was walking along Perry Street, I was startled by a whoosh of feathers just to my left. I looked up and what to my wondering eyes had appeared but a — no, not a miniature sleigh (much less, eight tiny reindeer), but a sizable hawk, perched on the tree outside the Duke HR building.
 

Durham Hawk

 
Alas, I’m not exactly sure what sort of hawk this was, and the photo doesn’t help much, but it was a welcome treat on a gloomy, rainy day.

3 thoughts on “Eyeing Hawk

  1. My last “answer” must have tanked. I offered the info that your hawk was actually a flicker, known by the V marking. If you hear woodpecker type noises, that’s your friend the flicker!

  2. If it was a flicker, it was about three times bigger than the largest flicker I’ve seen before, plus browner, with a beak better-suited for ripping flesh than poking into trees (that thing that may seem to be a pointed beak coming out of its head is a leaf in the background). But you are, of course, right that flickers are known for their Vs.
     
    To be on the safe side, however, I’m going to avoid saying anything derogatory about flickers, because if they can grow as big as this birdie, I don’t want to be found on their enemies list.

  3. I switched over to Flikr so I could enlarge it. I’ll give you the possibility of a hawkish beak and enlarged, the V is not so prominent so I’ll entertain the thought of a hawk though it usually won’t tolerate closeness to a human unless he is waiting for dessert!

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