Larry, I don’t believe it is a Red-tailed unless they grow them larger in CA than they do in OR, for he was a big fella! And needless to say, he sat atop that pine for much longer than I was able to observe, so I did not have an opportunity to see him fly. I’ll look over more of the photos and see if there may be a better angle of him. Regardless of who he may be, a beauty he was! Should I discover anything else, will let you know. Thank you!

I love your blog and your outlook on life! Your garden looks absolutely gorgeous too! My wife and I were recently up in Whistler for an “Enlightened Warrior” camp that was just amazing. What a beautiful, peaceful place.

About the bird. When I first looked at the enlarged picture of your hawk I thought it might be an immature Red-tailed hawk but not knowing the size of the bird it is hard to say. The Ferruginous is a very large bird.

However, when I looked at the original photo of the bird in the distance over the roof, it appears to have a longish tail. That photo, giving me an idea of the size of the bird, makes me think it might be a male Northern Harrier. Especially if it has a white eye stripe. The easiest way to identify it would be if you saw it fly. If it showed a white rump, and it had long narrow wings, it would be a Harrier. Otherwise it may indeed be a Ferruginous or immature Red-tailed Hawk. In any event, it is a beautiful hawk.