Thursday, May 20, 2010

Red-tailed Hawk Flying Free in the Open Sky

The red-tailed hawk is the most common hawk found in North America. They are found in almost every type of habitat, except for unbroken forests and the extreme north. They eat a wide variety of different types of prey which is one reason why they have been so successful.
It is common to see red-tailed hawks perched on light poles and signs on the sides of roads and highways. They can often be seen on the same perch day after day. This is because the red-tail is an ambush hunter. They conserve energy by perching and waiting for their prey to show itself. Road sides are good habitat for this style of hunting. Garbage thrown from passing cars bring rodents down to the road and the cut grass and open space that you typically find around roads helps the hawk to locate and pounce on its prey. Unfortunately this exposes the red-tail to its primary predator which would be us. At The Raptor Center they get quite a few red-tails that have been hit by cars down in the clinic. Fortunately this red-tail was flying in the opens skies above Crex Meadows when I took this pic.

8 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Love to see the hawk in the sky and such a gorgeous sky it is! Marvelous photos as always! And they always lift my morning! Have a wonderful weekend!

Sylvia

Bestemor Drillo said...

Fantastic photos !

Steffi said...

Really beautiful photos!Thank you for sharing!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

I love it, love seeing them in flight. Saw 2 perched together on wire this morning...grrrr going 60mph and driving...oh well, fun to view them too~ Bravo~

eileeninmd said...

Awesome shot of the Red tail in flight. Happy skywatching!

Jossie said...

Fantastic to capture him in flight.

Anonymous said...

We have a pair of hawks nesting in our backyard. They appear to be too small to be a red-tail. I posted a picture on your facebook page...everyone in the neighborhood would love to know what type they are. Thanks for the help.

Caroline Gill said...

Great shots. You might enjoy this...