crc-rehab-blog:

crc-rehab-blog:

In honor of orphan season (as we anxiously await the first arrival, any day/hour/second), I’ve decided to re-post an entry from a few years ago:

Below I have listed some of the common species in our area, as well as identifying characteristics.

Great horned owls (February-March)

Yellow eyes, dark beak, tan feathers

Barred owls (March-April)

Dark eyes, yellow beak, gray fuzz

Barn owls (any time of year)

Dark eyes, white beak, heart-shaped facial disk, very aggressive

Eastern screech owls (April-May)

Yellow eyes, greenish-grey beak, very small, “banding” pattern on feathers may be noticeable

Cooper’s hawks (May-June)

Bluish to lemon yellow eyes, very short beak compared to Buteos, greenish cere, long toe #3

Broad-winged hawks (July-August)

Brown eyes, yellow or greenish cere, smaller feet than red-shouldered hawks

Red-shouldered hawks (April-June)

Grey to tan eyes, longer beak than accipitors, yellow cere, very noisy, tend to lay down when stressed

Red-tailed hawk (May-June)

Grayish to tan eyes, greenish or bluish cere, large feet

American kestrels (June-July)

Dark eyes, falcon tooth, pink face, long toes, very tiny

Black vulture (March-August)

Long faces, buff-colored down

Turkey vulture (May-August)

Long faces, white down

Here is a THROWBACK post from a few years ago – we no longer call it “Orphan Season” because there are very few true orphans, we like to refer to it as “Nestling Season”.

CHEERS to NESTLING SEASON!