The Howland
Picture Pages: Red-tailed Hawk The Howland
Picture Pages: Red-tailed HawkPage by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2004/10/08 22:01:07 $ (UTC)
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is one of the most widespread Buteos in North America. According to my references, Red-tailed Hawk numbers are on the increase as a result of human impact. This Hawk's characteristic red tail feathers are a familiar sight and one of the easiest tell-tales for people learning to distinguish raptors. The screeching call of the Red-tailed Hawk is just as familiar, even to non-birders -- it is one of the most common bird calls heard in movies and TV, often (in a lack of cinema verité) standing in for the call of other raptors like the Bald Eagle. It is fortunate that these cues are available, since the Red-tailed Hawk has a staggering number of morphs across the range it occupies, making specific race identification a challenge except for true hawk aficionados.
Deb and I often do raptor counts to pass the time when driving north or south along Highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary, a distance of about 300 km. Our highest count on a one-way trip, since we started counting around 1995, has been 93. This count was made on September 18, 2004, and smashed our previous record of 63 counted on August 9, 2003. The majority of our sightings are Red-tails and Swainsons, but pinning down specifics from a vehicle moving at 110 km/h can be a bit tricky.
Resources where you can find out more:
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This Red-tailed Hawk spent a bit of time soaring above me while I was checking out a field near Water Valley, Alberta on July 24, 2004. Perhaps it suspected I might scare up some tasty rodents for it. Alas I saw no rodents, nor presumably did the hawk as it continued to float aloft and away. This shot was taken with a Canon EOS 10D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, hand-held. It is a little fuzzy, possibly because of tracking a moving target and/or because the lens can be a little soft at full zoom, in my experience.
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On the second morning of our first visit to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, we made a final pass around part of the driving loop after watching the morning Snow Goose take-off. At one point we made a stop where a small path leads out to a viewing platform that overlooks an expanse of water. When I walked out to the platform, I looked up to see this big Red-tailed Hawk sitting hardly any distance above me. I managed to snap a few frames before the raptor decided to move on, without a lot of apparent concern. I haven't been that close to a perching Hawk before!
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