[bluesky]

Just a shot in the dark here as I was unable to get a photo, but in case anyone else was in the vicinity this afternoon and made a positive ID, or has seen and positively ID'd a very large hawk in the area of Lost Lagoon recently... I'd love to hear about it.

This handsome creature looked far too big to be a Cooper's/Sharp-Shinned but shared many of the markings of the juvenile of both species. Brown upperparts, white/cream breast, brown streaks on breast that stopped well before the legs, very long tail. My best guess based on size alone is a female Northern Harrier or juvenile Goshawk but I know both are uncommon and have never seen either before... has anyone seen either of those in the area?

[jewill]

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk?

[BirdingBC]

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk?

Could be a bunch of possible species. The lower mainland gets all sorts of wintering raptors and right now, some raptors are beginning their spring migration and show up in weird places. I think with the brown colouring you described, we can consider that this may be a juvenile bird and yes, juvenile red-tailed hawks are more common near the city. Still could be something else.

[bluesky]

Thank you, Kevin (and thanks for the great site)... after seeing a few hawks today at the Pitt Wildlife Management Area, including a Red-Tailed from very close range, I'm convinced that what I saw at Stanley Park was a Harrier or Goshawk. It was so much larger than any of the other species with similar plumage. I'll be posting photos in the future!