He explained patience. He said it was the most important thing of all to remember, this: that when you wanted to see something very badly, sometimes you had to stay still, stay in the same place, remember how much you wanted to see it, and be patient. —Helen Macdonald, “H is for Hawk”
I brought the binoculars up to my eyes and adjusted the knob, easing the fuzzy silhouette into focus. It was a big hawk: that much was clear from the sheer size and the hooked beak. The biggest species of hawk in our region is the Red-tail, and the female Red-tail usually outweighs the male; but the colors of this bird didn’t quite fit.
There was a smattering of white spots across the shoulders on either side; they formed a V on the upper back. The head was dark, the throat lighter in color; and the buff breast was streaked with dark broad patches.
Then there was the tail: dark brown regularly interrupted with black horizontal bars, extending well beyond the folded wingtips.
Majestically, it perched atop the Celtic cross on the pinnacle of the brownstone church steeple, emitting a series of screeching cries.
Another bird, similar in coloring but smaller in size, answered from his perch in the uppermost branches of the tall dead spruce on Winthrop Street.
I eased closer, pausing after several steps to bring the binoculars up and observe the detail of the plumage.
Finally, after twenty minutes, the big hawk lifted its hindquarters, spread its broad wings, and dropped off the steeple, soaring to a cluster of far trees. I caught a glimpse of the tail against the overcast sky: definitely not a russet red.
Back at the house I studied a copy of Sibley’s Guide and searched online. Finally, I found it: a juvenile Red-tail.
There is an art to identification, where perception, perseverance and patience reward the persistent observer.
