Swainson's Hawk

Status One sight record. A light-phase adult bird was identified by Wickerson Lent and Barry Kent MacKay during a hawk flight on Brier Island in September 1964.

Remarks Because the bird was perched quite close, facing the observers, and allowing them to see the distinctive dark upper breast and undertail banding, and because both observers were experienced, the record is very plausible. Although there are no other records from Atlantic Canada, this prairie hawk occasionally appears in autumn in the northeastern United States.