Red-tailed Hawk

 

While out on a Short-eared Owl prowl recently I came across a fairly co-operative Red-tailed Hawk on a fence post.

Red-tailed Hawks are large hawks with typical Buteo proportions: very broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail.

Most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the wing underside, a dark bar between shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it’s brown and banded. Cornell All About Birds

I was fortunate a couple years ago to witness this Red-tailed Hawk devouring a duckling.

The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of open country. Look for it along fields and perched on telephones poles, fenceposts, or trees standing alone or along edges of fields.

A few years ago I watched a Red-tailed Hawk catch a snake for dinner.