Tagged With: Raptors

Red Tailed Hawk

Photograph taken on Thursday, March 03, 2022 by Henry
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

I went into the office today. We had planned to start coming back to the office originally last fall and then at the new year, but each time it got pushed back. Starting March 1, however, it actually happened. I came in on March 1 and again today. In the early afternoon I went outside for a short break, walking through the empty lot next to my office. I saw this red-tailed hawk (em>Buteo jamaicensis) and was quick enough to get a pretty nice photograph. I’ve been thinking for some time about getting a longer lens for this sort of thing, but so far, the longest I have is 100mm.

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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Photograph taken on Friday, August 05, 2022 by Henry
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

There’s a golf course a little way towards South Carolina from where we stay at the beach that has a pond we call Alligator Pond. There is a pull-off and a boardwalk that overlooks the pond, although there’s so much growing up between the boardwalk and the pond it’s mostly a lost cause. But there is a small opening in the bushes and we often see alligators there. As we pulled in I looked up and saw a bald eagle flying away from the pond. It was gone long before I could get to my camera. There were, however, two ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) that circled for quite a while and I was able to get one pretty decent photo. We also did see an alligator and around the pond were both egrets and wood storks.

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Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Photograph taken on Saturday, February 17, 2024 by Henry
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

We went for a walk part of the way around Lake Needwood today. It was fairly cool out but a pretty day otherwise. There were assorted ducks out on the lake but mostly they were pretty far away. This hawk, however, was in a tree below the path so with the aid of the hill, I was just about on a level with him. I think it’s probably a Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) but it’s really hard to say for sure. Distinguishing between Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus) is very difficult and I tend to favor sharpies in identifications because I think they’re a bit more common. But that may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. In any case, it’s one of those two and it’s a lovely bird.

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Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 by Henry
Red-shouldered Hawk (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.

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Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 27, 2024 by Henry
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

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.

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