Crops & Clips: Red-shouldered Hawk

The most common diurnal raptor seen on our local Wounded Wetlands is the Red-shouldered Hawk. 



When I see a Red-shouldered Hawk in its typical hunting pose it seems to be deep in thought, reminding me of "The Thinker."

Actually this posture provides the best view of its favored prey, which consists of small creatures often hidden in the grass and sedge, only visible from above.

It simply waits until a reptile or small mammal reveals itself. It also takes birds and insects. In our neighborhood I most often find it at the edge of an open wet prairie. This is the north wet prairie in the Wounded Wetlands, after a rain shower:



In riparian areas, frogs, snakes and salamanders are important food items. This adult exhibits its namesake red shoulders as it joins its mate, which is finishing off a frog's leg:





Adults in south Florida exhibit a range of depth of coloration. Most of our local birds are quite bright:





At Corkscrew Swamp in southwestern Florida we saw some very pale specimens (note the leg band):





This past week, I was walking back to my auto after visiting the local Bald Eagle nest when the cries of a Blue Jay alerted me to the presence of an immature Red-shouldered Hawk on a power line a short distance ahead of me. The young bird has brown plumage for its first 18 months of life:



The hawk seemed to be undisturbed by my presence as I moved closer. Although I could not fit the entire subject in my prime lens, I obtained some very nice portraits :





The immature bird lacks the red in its shoulders but shows a distinctive wing pattern. Its outer primaries are light at the base with dark tips, creating a band near its wing tips:



On January 5th we will be leading our next South Florida Audubon "First Saturday" nature walk at Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in nearby Pembroke Pines.






Red-shouldered Hawks nest in one of the tall trees in the adjacent pasture:



This adult rested on the boardwalk railing before flying off:







The hawk's diet can include the exotic Brown Basilisk, here seen scurrying across the boardwalk:




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