Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawk Encounter
On a chilly, bright, sunny morning with a clear blue sky, a Red-tailed Hawk swooped suddenly over my head as I was walking along the road, coming from behind me at lower than treetop level then flying upward, rising above the trees. It began to climb, making a large circle, turning so that its dull red-orange tail caught the sun, and rising quickly. As I watched it, a Red-shouldered Hawk appeared and flew directly toward the Red-tailed Hawk, diving toward it sharply then veering away.
Both hawks made big, loose circles and climbed slowly, and the Red-shouldered Hawk dived toward the Red-tailed Hawk two or three more times. I could not tell if any actual contact was made, but it was diving at the Red-tailed Hawk just as Crows often do. The size between the two hawks was quite noticeable in this encounter, the Red-tailed Hawk considerably larger. The Red-shouldered Hawk looked more compact, its banded tail and bold coloring vivid against the blue sky.
All this time both hawks were quiet. The Red-tailed Hawk sailed away out of sight, with the Red-shouldered Hawk still in pursuit, and only then did I hear its kee-yer calls. Several minutes later, in the same area, a Red-shouldered Hawk was soaring alone and calling a loud kee-yer, kee-yer, very high, so that it was barely more than a sliver in the sky.
I don’t know for sure, but think the Red-shouldered Hawk probably was attacking the Red-tailed Hawk because it had come into its territory and maybe too close to its nest. This happened in the same low, wooded area around some creeks where I’ve seen a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks often the past few weeks. In previous years, this has been more the territory of Red-shouldered Hawks, but over the past few winter months, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks has also been spending a lot of time here, and that’s relatively new.