I went to the Columbus Airport this afternoon to pick up my younger brother,
and as we were leaving, my little boy (2 yrs old) kept insisting that he
wanted to see an airplane!  So since nothing was immediately pressing, I
turned south onto Stelzer Rd from International Drive instead of getting on
670 toward home.  As we passed the end of the runway, I noticed a very light
hawk hunting over the grass just inside the airport property.  What mostly
impressed me on my first glance was that its head was very pale. After
turning around, I pulled over (hoping to let my son see an airplane take
off, but also to see the hawk).  The distal half of the tail was a pale pink
and horizontally barred, fading into pure white without bars at the base of
the tail.  There was heavy white mottling breaking up the brown on the back,
and the head was mostly white, except for some brown just in front of and
behind the eye, on the nape, a darkish malar, and a little streaking on the
top of the crown.  I guess the other way to say that is it had very
pale/creamy white eyebrows, cheeks, and throat.  The breast and belly were
all white, except for some dark streaking on the flanks.  After consulting
my Peterson Field Guides "Hawks" book and some online pictures and
commentary, I believe it was an immature Krider's Hawk, or possibly an
intergrade Krider's x Eastern Red-tailed Hawk.  Again, this bird was right
at the west end of the runway that lies south of and parallel to
International Dr, right along Stelzer Rd.   Cool hawk--I'm glad my son was
so persistent in asking to see an airplane!

-Nate Nye
Hilliard

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