I have a local hawk that I see flying in the sky on ocassion. Today I got very lucky and saw it actually land on my bird feeder. I have rodents that come into the yard because of the dropped seeds and I am sure this bird spotted one of the rats and was hunting for it's dinner.
Does anyone know what the name of this hawk is?
The hawk was mad in the first photo. It had swooped down to try to catch the rat, but the rat managed to get away. The Hawk flew and landed on the bird feeder and was making a loud squawking noise. Here is a photo of the hawk standing calmly.
This message was edited Jun 25, 2009 11:55 PM
I,m going to say Cooper's Hawk.
Cooper's Hawk? I'll look that up on the internet to see if that is what the bird is! Thanks!
I also have doves. Is this a white tipped dove? This bird was further away, so it's a little blurry. Sorry.
Mourning Dove
It may be a Harris Hawk not sure my Cooper's Hawk photo's from last year show different pattern on the breast than yours.
newer camera from last year
Sorry lol its not a Harris's Hawk....Ill say Red-shouldered Hawk ...and that's my final answer. lol This link look's like your bird. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i3390id.html its from Patuxent Research
Burd - My hawk has a tan chest with speckled feathers. Yours looks white breasted with speckles. The color looks different to me between our two birds.
Let's bump this up for Resin. I have my thoughts but I'll be interested to hear what he says.
Red-shouldered Hawk (Florida subspecies) for #1-2 - note the black and white barring on the wing and tail, and pinkish breast. The Florida subspecies is paler on the breast than Red-shouldered Hawks from further north.
Mourning Dove for #3 - note the long, pointed tail
Resin
Beautiful Hawk Becky...and it is nice to see you again!
They are great shots Becky!
Burd, Good call! The different subspecies do make it confusing at first.
Resin, Is this hawk immature?
Hi Y'all! It's great to see some old faces (screen names) posting a reply to my ID questions. Thanks to everyone!
Resin - I was hoping you would pop on here to give me your ID thoughts! I appreciate Burd_Fotos accurate IDs! Thanks so much! :-)
Hi dellrose! :-) :-)
Pell - Thanks! I too was wondering if it was an immature bird. It wasn't too good at catching the rat. LOL! And it got pretty mad when the rat evaded him. He started throwing a birdie temper-tantrum with all the shreeching and squawking sounds and flapping his wings! Really LOUD! LOL! Almost like an angry teenager not getting his way. lol
I watched it before it swooped down and it was twitching it's tail and bobbing it's head when it saw the rat moving. Reminded me of a cat getting ready to pounce. :-) Quite the personality!!!
I went by the eye color on the ID of the Red-shouldered Hawk plus the breast pattern. And the long yellow leg's.
Yes Resin knows his stuff "prop's". You wouldve got the answer from him for sure. I said Harris's Hawk before I actually did the work lol.
Adult - the juveniles are browner.
Resin
Thanks so much, Resin.
Do these hawks live alone or have mates? I've only seen this one bird. (Or at least I thought what I saw was the same lone bird...)
Great pictures of the Hawk, Becky.
Thanks, gardenpom! :-)
Good picture. It is so hard to get pictures of hawks. I also loved the discription of the "tantrum". LOL
It is amazing to watch the actions of birds and animals. My daughter thinks birdwatching is a bit boring...HA! I don't think so!
cpartschick - I've had the rare and very lucky opportunity to photograph some interesting and beautiful birds in my yard. Very, very close-up! Though this photo of the Hawk was taken from inside from a window about 8 feet away from the Hawk. But I've been able to literally walk right up to an Owl (on many ocassions to take a photo). I swear it's my backyard habitat that is what is drawing them to my yard.
Five years ago, I had a lawn and a few shrubs in my yard. Hurricane season 2004 was a turning point in my gardening life. Before then, I planted and the plants died. (I was a lousy gardener!) But that all changed in 2004. Now my yard looks like a jungle and I grow just about everything from seeds or cuttings. (I stopped buying nursery plants 3 years ago. LOL!) All these plants provide coverage and homes for rodents, insects, and the birds. It's pretty cool. And my original intentions was to just have some flowers in my yard! LOL! As they say ... plant it and they will come!
The one bird species that I just can't get a decent photo of is the Ruby Throat Hummers. They are just too fast for me. And I don't have enough of these birds coming to my yard here in Florida that they are all over my yard. I took down the feeders this year because they prefer all the nectar blooms I now have in my yard. (That's saving me a small fortune in sugar. lol)
I need a better camera probably. Not in the budget. Someday ...
Thanks for all the ID help! :-)
Beautiful bird - well done on the photos!
Thanks so much, Galanthophile! Cool screen name! :-)
Great pix Becky. I just love watching hawks. They seem so intelligent, and do have interesting personalities.
OPBirder - Thanks! The Hawks seem so smart to me, too, as do the Owls. They are "watchers" due to their predatory nature.
I had posted this photo earlier this year on this forum, but thought I would post it again. I believe this was ID'd as a Screech Owl. I can't remember now. Once again, the rats bring these predator birds right into my yard. This Owl is sitting on the Hummingbird feeder sheperd's hook nex to the back of my house right next to the screen porch. I walked right up to him (or her) and took this photo. I was just a few feet away. It then took off and I never even heard it's wings flap. They have sleath flight. Another truly beautiful bird! Those big curious eyes make them look so intelligent. I am sure they are! I am amazed that they let me get so close to them. This isn't the first time I've gotten close-up photos of these owls. There is a family of at least 3 living in my area. I have an old photo somewhere of one sitting right on top of the bird feeder just like the Hawk in the first photos. :-)
This photo was taken this past winter.
It's a small owl species as you can see by this further away photo. I took so many photos of this bird that night! It was so cool to get that close to an owl!
Becky, those are great pictures,,, I enjoyed looking at them.
Thanks for sharing,
Elaine
Here's a photo of one of them taken in early 2008. This owl is sitting on one of the hanger arms on the bird feeder. There were 2 other owls sitting right overhead on the powerlines about 8 feet up. Very cool! I've posted all of these owl photos before on this forum, but I always enjoy looking at them again. I haven't seen the owls lately, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there! ;-)
Whooooo, I am out here,,,, lol
bet they are, just feeding those baby owls and keeping quiet.
Elaine
Elaine - LOL! I sometimes hear them WHOOOOing in the very early morning hours right as the sun is rising. And then they get real quiet. I figure they are saying nitey-nite to each other.
Goodnite Pa, Goodnite Ma, Goodnite John Boy! LOL!
Don't they sleep during the day and are active at night? Whenever I hear them calling, they are close-by. Probably in the trees right behind my backyard fence in the vacant lots. They are so small that they could probably hide anywhere. :-)
They look so cute until you look at their tallons. I would not want to get clawed by one of them or any Hawk, either. They could certainly do some damage. I guess that is why handlers wear those longs leather gloves that go right up to their elbows! =:-O
yes, I saw one with a handler at the Tucson Desert Museum. small, but with talons, so that she had gloves on.
Elaine
I do like the hawks. I feel bad when they get one of my songbirds, but I still like seeing them.
Your habitat sounds great. It makes a huge difference in seeing birds. I really enjoy this time of year when the birds are eating the wild cherries, buds and other sources of food naturally.
I was out in the kayak last night and to watch the birds swoop and eat the bugs in the sky is pretty fun stuff.
Just beautiful birds. Thanks Becky.
Those little Owls are so cute Becky...so glad you posted them!
