The best pose a Red-tailed ever gave me just happened to occur before sunrise on a cloudy day. So, I played with the Mono features of Light Room.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Red-tailed Hawks are large hawks with typical Buteo proportions: very broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Large females seen from a distance might fool you into thinking you’re seeing an eagle. (Until an actual eagle comes along.)….. You’ll most likely see Red-tailed Hawks soaring in wide circles high over a field. When flapping, their wingbeats are heavy. In high winds they may face into the wind and hover without flapping, eyes fixed on the ground. They attack in a slow, controlled dive with legs outstretched – much different from a falcon’s stoop….. 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….. The Red-tailed Hawk has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. At least, that’s what Hollywood directors seem to think. Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, no matter what species, the shrill cry on the soundtrack is almost always a Red-tailed Hawk.”
Buck Horn Springs Road - Jackson County – Oregon - USA
Tags: Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Buck Horn Springs Road Jackson County Oregon Mark Heatherington
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Emigrant Creek - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
Habitat : Forests
Food : Birds
Nesting : Tree
Behavior : Aerial Forager
Conservation : Low Concern
"Among the bird world’s most skillful fliers, Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that tear through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. You’re most likely to see one prowling above a forest edge or field using just a few stiff wingbeats followed by a glide. With their smaller lookalike, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawks make for famously tricky identifications... Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Tags: Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii Emigrant Creek Jackson County Oregon USA Mark Heatherington Hawk Raptor
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Rogue Valley - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
"This is probably the most common hawk in North America. If you’ve got sharp eyes you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car ride, anywhere. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings..... The Red-tailed Hawk has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. At least, that’s what Hollywood directors seem to think. Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, no matter what species, the shrill cry on the soundtrack is almost always a Red-tailed Hawk..... The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the largest birds you’ll see in North America, yet even the biggest females weigh in at only about 3 pounds. A similar-sized small dog might weigh 10 times that."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Tags: Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Rogue Valley Jackson County Oregon USA Mark Heatherington
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Emigrant Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
Habitat : Lakes and Ponds
Food : Fish
Nesting : Tree
Behavior : Aerial Dive
Conservation : Low Concern
"Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." - Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Tags: Osprey Pandion haliaetus Emigrant Lake Jackson County Oregon USA Fish Hawk Raptor Mark Heatherington
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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Emigrant Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
Habitat : Lakes and Ponds
Food : Fish
Nesting : Tree
Behavior : Aerial Dive
Conservation : Low Concern
"Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." - Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Tags: Osprey Pandion haliaetus Close up Emigrant Lake Jackson County Rogue Valley Oregon USA Mark Heatherington Raptor Fish Hawk
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