The Red-tailed Hawk is the most common hawk found in North America. When driving by open fields you can usually spot a Red-tailed hawk perched nearby on a tree, fence or soaring above. These birds are fairly easy to photograph and give a photographer good practice at photographing a bird in flight. This Red-tailed Hawk I photographed was taken in New Jersey at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. A popular place for birding and bird photographers to visit. Here are some photos of the Red-tailed Hawk
Some cool facts about the Red-tailed Hawk are provided by "The Cornell Lab of Ornithology" website
1. The Red-tailed Hawk has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. At least, that’s what Hollywood directors seem to think. Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, no matter what species, the shrill cry on the soundtrack is almost always a Red-tailed Hawk
2. Birds are amazingly adapted for life in the air. The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the largest birds you’ll see in North America, yet even the biggest females weigh in at only about 3 pounds. A similar-sized small dog might weigh 10 times that
3. The "Harlan's Hawk" breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and winters on the southern Great Plains. This very dark form of the Red-tailed Hawk has a marbled white, brown, and gray tail instead of a red one. It’s so distinctive that it was once considered a separate species, until ornithologists discovered many individuals that were intermediate between Harlan's and more typical Red-tailed Hawks
4. Courting Red-tailed Hawks put on a display in which they soar in wide circles at a great height. The male dives steeply, then shoots up again at an angle nearly as steep. After several of these swoops he approaches the female from above, extends his legs, and touches her briefly. Sometimes, the pair grab onto one other, clasp talons, and plummet in spirals toward the ground before pulling away
5. Red-tailed Hawks have been seen hunting as a pair, guarding opposite sides of the same tree to catch tree squirrels
6. The oldest known wild Red-tailed Hawk was at least 30 years, 8 months old when it was found in Michigan in 2011, the same state where it had been banded in 1981
My camera equipment:
Canon EOS 60D body
Canon EF-S 18-135mmf/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM for Canon EF mount
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di Vc USD Lens for Canon
All photos are handshot, no tripod
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this post. Have a great day/night wherever you may be. God bless you
