Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Richmond Hill?
by Adriana Pisano Beaumont
He actually looked somewhat like a Snowy Owl. With binoculars, we could clearly see a pale 'reddish-pink' tone to the body feathers, a distinct white tip at the unbanded tail and a VERY pale creamy breast with some light tan spots. He (or she) was HUGE (~22") by comparison to the Red Tailed Hawks we commonly see around here (we're on the Oak ridges moraine in Richmond Hill). We didn't think it was a raptor we had seen before, so we poked around the internet and it seemed to most closely resemble a Ferruginous hawk. The problem is that we kept reading that they are not indigenous to our area and are quite scarce. Then I came across a forum posting that talked about leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk sightings? He was just happily hanging out in that tree for the better part of 15 minutes - not very interested in the crowd of Squirrels or birds at our feeders. I figured he had already eaten or, more concerning, was the possibility that he belonged to a local falconer and had escaped into the wild (although he had no jesses and he looked very healthy). It finally dawned on me to get a photo but by the time I got my camera out of the bag and rushed back downstairs, he was gone. Any thoughts on the sighting would be appreciated... A really beautiful specimen to behold, regardless of what he was.
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