Any bird experts on here?

Im hoping someone can help me. I had to drop off my moms lunch earlier at work and when I was about to leave she said my two sisters saw this huge bird in our backyard. She said that they described it only as HUGE! I figured oh wow a canadian goose, whoopie. But when I got home I asked my sister about it and she said it was no goose, but as she described it a bird as large as a goose but all brown. She told me she thought there was a pigeon under it. Well it wasn't till I walked thru my backyard that I saw a lot feathers all over and then lots and lots of blood to go with it. So I knew then it was definitely not a goose.

But now my mind is wondering, what the hell could it have been. Im thinking a hawk, but what kind? I live in Northern NJ 5 minutes from NYC. I know there are hawks along the palisades and even some bald eagles have been spotted. But we dont live next to the palisades cliffs, have a poluted river which doesn't ahve anythign exciting. Is it possible it was some hawk or even an eagle that just happened to wonder in the area?

I know this is really strecthing on figuring it out without a pic, but what kind of bird is almost the size of a full sized canadien goose that would swoop down and snatch up a pigeon?

i assume you either live in edgewater or fort lee. Your not gonna find to many exotic birds there . I have no idea what it could be though. Maybe the hudson mutated a pigeon.

i live in little ferry just west on 46. But I did read about wild parrots in edgewater. Was kinda strange to see the pics taken from veterans park with some sort of cross bread half albino/regular goose.

Only thing that big, if it's not an Eagle. Could be an Osprey.

DAMphyne wrote in post #4200900
Only thing that big, if it's not an Eagle. Could be an Osprey.

Ospreys are fish eaters. I don't think they eat pigeons... From the description, it sound like some variety of hawk or eagle. Ospreys have a lot of white in them.

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Must be a brown pigeon hawk.

Or perhaps the common red-tailed hawk. They get pretty big, they're common all over the country, a couple of morphs are predominantly brown, and they do love pigeons, aka rock doves. Our local ones are especially fond of white-wing doves.

JWright wrote in post #4203911
Ospreys are fish eaters. I don't think they eat pigeons... From the description, it sound like some variety of hawk or eagle. Ospreys have a lot of white in them.

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Beautiful birds. Yes, they are fish eaters, but out here in SE Arizona, the also love toads, lizards, and small snakes. I guess there's just not enough fish here in the desert.

In Arizona, you learn quicky that the word "river" does not imply water.

Red Tail hawks and Coopers hawks are in residence, and both will eat pigeon for dinner no problem.. (though birds are not the red tails staple by any means)
But Red Tails are also one of the largest hawks you will see in you local.. so if it truly was big, I'd bet red tail.

When a non birder that is not very well adept at guaging size tries to describe a bird and can only come up with "huge", then we ignore there exaggerations and focus on the local likely suspects.
I bet in a six hour period I could point out 2 or 3 red tails in the area.. they are there, and most people just don't look up to see them.

My Gallery show in May 2006 "Wings Over Providence" was a study of avian bird life of the inner city,.
"Around us as we bustle to work in our daily routines, a separate yet connected ecology is happening right in front of our eyes every day. We need only look up from the pavement to glimpse it. "

People don't look up, I literally sold images of Red Tails perched on the roof of the person to whom I was selling the image,. no joke. They'd never seen the birds that hung out on there roof regularly.

Some Red Tails in the capital city,

http://cyberdynesystem​simaging.fotopic.net/p​564030.html
http://cyberdynesystem​simaging.fotopic.net/p​1015599.html
http://cyberdynesystem​simaging.fotopic.net/p​7472465.html

A Coopers with Pigeon in Providence;

I'm in the neighborhood and there are tons of raptors around here. It is also migration season and the lower hudson valley is their venue of choice. I agree on the huge comment, compared to a sparrow a hawk is HUGE.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #4204059
A Coopers with Pigeon in Providence;

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Beautiful shot.

We have lots of Coopers. They love our back yard (open desert with a feeding area and bubbler pond close to the house).

cyberdyne, now you got me intrigued to find these hawks around here. I keep looking up into the tree's to see anything. But im going to start keeping a more watchfull eye for these hawks/raptors/eagles. Just need a longer lens to shoot them with.

as for the palisades/hudson valley. I've yet to find anything. I've been going to the state line lookout a few times over the weeks and have not seen anything. Usually see hawks or something circling below the cliffs. But i've yet to see anything.

I was at the state line lookout about 2 weeks ago and saw a TON of hawks and turkey vultures. Seriously I've seen hawks circling route 4 weekly on my way home from work.

Skrim17 wrote in post #4205599
I was at the state line lookout about 2 weeks ago and saw a TON of hawks and turkey vultures. Seriously I've seen hawks circling route 4 weekly on my way home from work.

hmmm, might have to shoot up there tom.