Mangrove Common Black-Hawk, Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, Honduras

The bird checklist for the Lodge at Pico Bonito lists two Common Black-Hawks: Common and Mangrove Common. They are both the same species, so far, but the feeling in Honduras is that they are distinct populations, and perhaps different birds. This is the Mangrove variety, found in the mangroves along the Cuero y Salado rivers near the Caribbean coast. It is a juvenile bird. We were birding from boats, and I had the distinction of spotting this young bird from across the broad river as we motored back to the docks. At first, due to the proximity to water, and the distance, I thought it was an Osprey. A closer look convinced me otherwise. Our second boat (the one with the guide in it) saw us suddenly turn and head for shore and looped back, so everyone had great looks as the bird perched on a snag and hopped along the shore.

Sony HX400V. 655mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 400 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.