Please do not ID the Square Spotted Blue ! This is a plant ID project! Thanks!
Seen sitting on the ground during a snow storm
Oh, damn! This was a super nice surprise today :)
A Raven messing with a Golden Eagle :)
Mt Watson Road (Fiberboard Freeway) also Forest Road 73
What a treat! Around a dozen of them feeding in the exposed rocky/grassy area -- and all around my friend and I :)
Dimorphic leaves above and below the surface, or the old above-surface leaves change and lose turgidity once submerged
My initial thought in the field was that this was a Red-tailed Hawk, so I didn't think much of the obs at the time. But that patchier, light-ish head (particularly the light supercilium patches) are now throwing me off. It still looks to have that dark/light/dark/light coleration down its frontside (like a RTHA), but the belly band looks less prominent to me compared with the patterning of a typical RTHA. Also, its upper breast area seems really white (maybe just a trick of the light due to atmospheric conditions?). Anyway, is this just a motling/mottled RTHA or something else (i.e. Ferruginous Hawk, as I cross my fingers - haha!)?
And sorry for the low-grade photos. It was pretty far away, and I didn't have much time with it before it swooped.
Thanks for your help!
Some trippy molting on this one.