mystery bird flying on top of thunderhead

[igrowone]

this was notable enough for a small mystery thread
many times amazed with the knowledge here
upstate ny, tuesday, busting ass getting yard cleaned with thunderstorm coming
notice a dark shape off in the distance above the approaching storm
bird - big damn bird - eagle size i think
it keeps coming, maybe a couple of hundred feet above me when it crosses my position
i see a raptor beak, very dark but not quite black
now then, thunder storm riding eagles are new to me
there is a hill behind my house, think that was its target
and sadly no pics

 

[NEW ENGLAND]

That was me flying my new taradactyl kite.
Was that you ?

 

[NEW ENGLAND]

Just kidding wish ya had a pic

 

[igrowone]

Just kidding wish ya had a pic

me too, very much
my guess is was something way out of its normal range
it happens occasionally

 

[Gauss]

Birds aren't real, they're all government spy drones. OR ARE THEY?

 

[Brother Nature]

**Edit** On a serious note it could be a Golden Eagle possibly? They're big birds and are known to ride thermals, don't think they nest in NY but do travel through during migration.

 

[St. Phatty]

It's my Drone Bat talking to the animal bats so it can retrieve the premium Bat Guano for growers everywhere.

 

[NEW ENGLAND]

Possibly one of those endangered Pygmy Owls

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Mothman

 

[Amynamous]

I wonder if the approaching storm was stirring up rodents, etc. and the raptor was “riding the storm out” hoping to catch a snack.

 

[Lester Beans]

Turkey Vulture?

 

[kickarse]

Wedge Tail Eagle

 

[dddaver]

it's a bird...it's a plane...it's...WTF?

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Maybe its an Iranian drone - that got lost - on its way to the white house?

 

[chuckyoufarley]

We have a lot of eagles and some big osprey ,really big turkey vultures here in the true upstate NY by Lake George.

 

[igrowone]

thanks for the thoughts
not a turkey vulture, they are common here and familiar with them
wedge tail eagle is something i'll read over
gone through the list of world's eagles, no matches
maybe a very large hawk, the peculiar thing was the sold color
no patterns on it which was odd
last year had a bald eagle fly through, i'd say the bald eagle was a bit bigger
close though

 

[armedoldhippy]

golden eagles are pretty much dark brown, and immature bald eagles are hard to differentiate...

 

[Weird]

melanistic hawk

 

[igrowone]

ospreys are a bird i see weekly, wasn't an osprey
golden eagle maybe, but it didn't look like one
haven't seen too many goldens so id less certain
melanistic hawk, now that's an interesting thought
that would account for the lack of patterning
out of rep for the moment, but appreciate the input
and not a wedge tail, the wedge was not there

 

[igrowone]

great black hawk

great black hawk

so i've done a survey of every hawk/eagle in north america, south america, and europe
i believe what i saw was a great black hawk, i did get a good look
this is a tropical hawk, really doesn't belong up my way
but guess what dropped into Maine last year? GB hawk
it actually was there until january, rescued from a snow storm
then later succumbed to complications
the next closest match is a Solitary Eagle, a very rare eagle in mexico
well, it's likely moved, a pic would be some bragging rights
this pic is just a free wiki pic