I stepped out the kitchen door on my way to turning off the heat in the greenhouse and a hawk caught my eye. It was not at all concerned with me. It scanned the ground looking for breakfast. My turkeys and ducks were upset but it wasn’t at all interested in them. I stepped back in to get the camera before it left the maple outside the kitchen and moved to the old apple tree behind the house. After a few minutes it made two sounds a bit like a whine and flew away. I’ve been comparing so many pictures that I’ve confused myself. Can anyone identify this for me? Red shoulder? Red tail? RF
Red-Tailed Hawk: Most common hawk in North America. One of the five races of this hawk known as the Borealis race. This race is primarily on the east coast.
Ref: Smithsonian Handbooks, Birds of North America, Eastern Region
I’m thinking Red-tailed because of the belly band. If you squint and look at it, the belly or chest band is quite distinct. This is a tell tail sign of Red-tailed. As Joan said, would have been nice to see the tail. GAAAAAAAAAAreat shot, by the way! Awesome!
Hi Robin, Looking at myPeterson guide for hawks I am wondering if your hawk is an immature Broad-wing Hawk. It would be nice to know what the tail looked like.