Tagged With: Buteo lineatus

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

We had heard this hawk a few times and early this afternoon it flew past our house and landed in the tree in our back yard. I got a few shots from the front but was shooting through branches so those photos aren’t very good. This one isn’t great, because of the shadow across part of the bird’s head, but it’s still pretty good, I guess. I think this is a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) and Merlin agrees with me, although I’m not certain about the identification and if anyone seeing this knows better, let me know. It could be a broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus), as well. According to Audubon, neither is common in our area.

We enjoy seeing animals in our yard and of course it’s those animals that attract birds of prey. I certainly don’t mind giving up a rabbit or two for birds like this. I’m only sorry they can’t carry off the deer that do so much damage to my roses.

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Four days ago I posted a photo of what I identified as a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) or possibly a broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) taken in our back yard. Today I got a photo of what may be the same bird on a street sign. This is a much better view of the bird and I love the colors with the green of the sign and the yellow leaves in the background. Anyway, I still think it’s a red-shoulderd hawk but still am not sure, being no expert. We were getting ready to go for a walk when we saw this, so I’ve got three more bird pictures to come, both from that walk. Stay tuned.