What Kind Of Bird?

[Ant]

As I was out metal detecting I saw this bird, a species that show up from time to time in the Hi Desert.... different desert then the High Desert. They are always similar in size and color but I thought they were some kind of eagle. We have Cooper's Hawks and Golden Eagles in the High Desert but the hawks aren't nearly as large or have the wing span that this bird does.
I have an idea what it is and made a code of my guess with the letters within this thread:
10-7-7-2-23-7
I'll expose the code to my guess after some guesses or if the thread dies.

 

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[garyo1954]

Could be a M-O-O-S-G-O

Maybe?

hmmm......

Probably not.

 

[Goldiver]

Looks like it may be a Condor. My second guess is a Pterodactyl, be careful out there.

 

[HAPPYCAMPER]

My oddball guess,California brown pelican.

 

[longcut]

Osprey ....... maybe

 

[Mackaydon]

I'm with longcut: Osprey
Don....

 

[Ant]

The bird is a raptor with a 4 foot wing span, when perched the bird is nearly 3 feet tall, the underside is white, this raptor is hunting 3 foot tall jackrabbits. I think it has an owl like face to channel sound inti its ears.

 

[Rich jaws]

No idea but I bet it tastes like chicken! Free range chicken that is.

 

[Twig57]

Harpy eagle

 

[Twig57]

 

[GaRebel1861]

I have no clue what that bird might be. I bet if you could eat them, over half the people here would know what it is and how to field dress one!

 

[Twig57]

It's a Harpy Eagle

 

[Twig57]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy_eagle

 

[K1DDO1979]

It's a cassowary! Haha

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

It looks to be an Osprey but if you were down around Salton Sea it could be a migratory raptor not common to the area.IMO

 

[Ant]

All good and goofball "lol) answers for what you have to work with. I have an advantage because I observed it in persosn and from hawk pictures it looks to be a Harrier Hawk.

The large version with the white underside.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-boost-us&hl=en&site=webhp&tbm=isch&source=hp&ei=AqMaVZzWKo6gyATj-4HACA&q=california+harrier+hawk&oq=california+harrier+hawk&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.12..41l3.10451.10451.0.12043.2.2.0.1.1.0.1600.1600.8-1.1.0.msedr...0...1c..64.mobile-gws-hp..1.1.308.3.3eH5gdBjMnY

Hen harrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

What was the wingspan? We have northern harriers but they're not near as large as eagles' or even ospreys. They're a little smaller than our medium sized red-tailed hawks. About the same size as a northern goshawk.

When you raise chickens you notice raptors.

 

[Thommy]

Looks like an Osprey. But in the desert? Body of water nearby?

 

[calisdad]

It's far too large to be a harrier. It looks like an osprey to me. They fish. I'm guessing there is a body of water nearby. They also like to nest on power poles.

 

[Ant]

On a perch the bird is 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall and has a 3 1/2 to 4 foot wing span. The beak is unlike the osprey and I know what an osprey looks like but I have been known to be wrong, lol. I will get better pictures as it tends to hang around and shadow you waiting for a jackrabbit or kit fox to move. I'm positive it is a hawk and a huge one.
Identify a Hawk-like seen in California by tail shape