View allAll Photos Tagged RedTailedHawk
I like this photo because the red tail feathers show up quite clearly. Often we amateurs get frustrated when comparing bird photos with bird names. Since I started and continue taking bird photos primarily to help children and other non-specialists who visit (when Covid-19 isn't around) to recognize the birds they see here, that's the kind of photo I usually strive for. Someday I'd like to get beyond the utilitarian, though. I look at some of your photos and dream. Smile.
Thank you for your visit. I appreciate it and you. Please take care of yourselves and those you love.
A glorious day for raptors.
The rodent explosion continues.
Peola Road, Asotin County, Washington, USA
I was surprised when this Red-tail spotted me and didn't take off for the great blue yonder, but instead for another branch on the edge of the woods. While I was shooting I noticed him looking upwards at one point and he started flapping. I didn't even notice the action until I reviewed my photos and was completely astonished to find this hawk had come under attack by another Red-tail. Awesome action, but was dismayed to find the focus was not on target. Oh well...what are the chances of getting a do-over on this?
Here's one of the red-tailed hawks that reside on the grounds around my office. I've witnessed them disembowel several eastern cottontails and take a few runs at the local starling flocks. Both of them are also super chill and tolerate me taking portraits of them as they perch on the roof of the building.
This is the most widespread and familiar large hawk in North America, bulky and broad-winged, designed for effortless soaring.
An inhabitant of open country, it is commonly seen perched on roadside poles or sailing over fields and woods.
Although adults usually can be recognized by the trademark reddish-brown tail, the rest of their plumage can be quite variable, especially west of the Mississippi: Western Red-tails can range from blackish to rufous-brown to nearly white.
A little too graphic for my taste, but it was the only way this juvenile Red Tailed Hawk would agree to a photo shoot.
We had a serendipitous encounter with this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk while out exploring in Essex County, Massachusetts yesterday. I owe Patti a big thank you for kicking me out of the car to get the photograph.
Fun facts and things to know… Red-tailed Hawks do not develop their eponymous cinnamon-red tails until they fully develop their adult plumage when about a year old. Juveniles, as seen here, have thin brown banding on their tails. But they do have other key identification characteristics, two of which we can clearly see here. First, the dark “belly band” with clean upper breast is usually the most noticeable clue in the field. The belly band is the first thing I always look for when making an identification.
But the dark bands on the leading edge of the wings also serve as an identification clue; these are known as “patagial bars”, as they are on the “patagium” (the stretch of skin on the leading edge of a bird's wing extending from the head to the wrist). This is often less noticeable in the field, but we have a good look at them in this flight photograph.
This is the very next frame after the photograph I posted yesterday, so just a fraction of a second later.
I love that we can see her feet and talons tucked up under her tail, as well as the curves on the feathers of her near wing. That dark streak from her shoulder, over her wing towards her feet is from the shadow of one of the surrounding trees.