Was out shooting butterflies and bees when the hawk I've been hearing for days now decided to make an appearance. Actually, it quickly became apparent that there were two, but they never flew very close to one another while in camera range.
My battery was very low so autofocus was apparently getting tired. Most of the shots I got of him were horribly soft, this one's just moderately soft ;-) And a huge crop, besides, as he was very far up in the sky. Still, I love the full extension in the wings and tail that really show off his feather pattern.
I *think* he's a Redtailed Hawk (they're common around here) but I won't swear to it.
As an aside, I found several large clumps of grey feathers in the yard yesterday. My guess is one of the hawks snacked on a Catbird.
This is definitely a red-shouldered hawk!! Especially since you said you have been hearing him, they're pretty noisy. Coopers tails don't fan out like that and are smaller and Red-tails only have barred tails as juveniles. You can see the reddish tint to his "shoulders" too!
Hi Mary, Nice shot of the hawk. I always take pix of Hawks no matter how high they are. You really have nice light on this one. I don't think Red Tail hawks have bands on their tail feathers. It could be a Coopers hawk.
If you got this with a 300mm then he must have been very high. I also like the way the light is coming through the wings and tail, defining the feather patterns.
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