My most frequent hawk yard bird is not the more common Red-tailed Hawk – it is a bird that I did not see often when I was in New York, the Red-shouldered Hawk. Since they were difficult to see in New York, I did not have this as a yard bird at my old house… not even a flyover.
Last November, while at my new house in Pennsylvania, I was surprised with a beautiful adult right outside my window. This was on my birthday – a great gift from nature! After that, I would see or hear this bird often and I am pretty sure they ended up nesting in the neighborhood.
Adult Red-shouldered Hawk
Lately, I have been getting multiple visits from a young Red-shouldered Hawk. I wonder if this bird is one of the offspring.
A visit during my Project FeederWatch count
At the end of October and again a couple of days later, I saw this hawk grab a snake. The first time, it was right behind my house so I had a few photo ops. Despite the high angle, I am still happy with the photos!
Look closely – the snake is wrapping around the hawk’s leg
The snake was still alive and wrapping around the hawk’s leg.
The hawk works at killing and untangling the snake
It eventually gave up and the hawk left with its meal.
Finally, the snake gives up
The hawk picked up its catch and flew off
I have to admit that I was a little confused as to the identification of the younger bird. Some friends on Facebook helped me with the ID and gave me good information on how to ID the juvenile. This Sunday, I went to a hawk banding and they caught a Red-shoulder that looked just like my bird. I knew what the bird was as soon as I saw it in the net and it was really nice to see the details up close. The following photos are from the banding and not from my yard.
Red-shouldered Hawk in hand
Details in the wing
A close-up that I only wish I could get in my yard