A Santa Barbara birder saw a hawk perched on a wire in Carpinteria, California, November 25, 2012 and photographed it. He didn't recognize it as one of the local resident hawks and consulted with others as to the identity of this hawk, and it turned out that it was a juvenile Gray Hawk in its 2nd or 3rd year. This bird was a true vagrant and the 1st documented California record. The nearest area where this bird can be found in any numbers is Southern Arizona, Truly, this hawk was a long ways from home. It remained at this location into 2013 and then disappeared just before spring. Speculation was, would it return in the coming winter, and low and behold it did, and spent the winter of 2013 and 2014. Again it disappeared and everyone wondered. It again showed up in December, and is on course to spend the winter of 2014 and 2015. Not only did it return for the 3rd winter, it's in the same exact area where it was first found and photographed.