Saturday, January 17, 2009

New Backyard Bird, a Red-shouldered Hawk

As Rick (the Spotter) walked into the kitchen this morning, what did he see? A hawk staring at him through the kitchen door window! He immediately grabbed the camera and snapped off a quick shot.


Then he had Matty open the door slowly so he could photograph him using the monopod.


Let’s zoom in a little bit. Isn’t he a gorgeous, stocky bird? His colorful chest and bold black and white bars on his tail are very striking.



As he was looking over his new territory, a young Cooper’s Hawk flew up and perched in the same tree. The Spotter scores a twofer! Unfortunately, the Cooper’s Hawk was a bit skittish, so Rick had to retreat back inside to photograph him. Our greasy, grimy gopher gut windows didn’t allow for a crisp shot, but it works for me!

A juvenile Cooper's Hawk perches near the Red-shouldered Hawk.

2 comments:

Heather said...

I'm afraid I'm pretty weak in identifying raptors, too, so I can't really help you with this one. But the photos are spectacular. I'm sure someone out there will be able to help you with the ID.

Kelly said...

Thanks, Heather! I've sent emails out to a few of my really birdy friends, so hopefully someone will be able to confirm the hawk.