Hawks I View - the Red Shouldered Hawk

The most plentiful hawk in my daily walks is the lovely Red Shouldered Hawk. Found on both the east coast and west coast, this medium sized hawk is usually a permanent resident of its chosen locale. That lovely red flash in the sun is contrasted with reddish brown heads and pale bellies with light red bars. Immatures appear mostly brown and are marked with light brown spots that can appear heart shaped.

These birds of prey are NOT picky eaters! They are carnivores and can go from one of our plentiful anole lizards, frogs, and rodents to even prey nearly their own weight such as a rabbit. They hunt by both sight and sound. Their flight is called accipiter – characterized by a flap-flap-glide – flap-flap-glide. They are even able to fly upside down for short distances!

Their calls are loud squawks or quick whistles during flight. I had the rare opportunity to watch and catch a photo of a mated pair that signaled each other, flew in and had a romantic tree top encounter while my shutter captured it. Last spring, I followed a nest and got to enjoy the delight of young ones maturing till fledging.

One of my favorite items in the SHOP section of my website is this t-shirt with a mated pair standing proudly side by side. A buyer of this shirt once told me she was “visited” by a red shouldered hawk on the day her son was born so she gave him Hawk for a middle name! I liked that a whole lot!