Red-shouldered Hawk
The first few days of January have been cold and often windy. When I got back home after a walk late this morning – on another gray, cloudy, chilly day – I was surprised to see the back of a big, vividly-colored Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on top of the bluebird house in our front yard, not far away from where I stood. It was facing away from me – the dark-brown back checkered with black and white, the red shoulders showing up especially well, and the black-and-white banded tail. For one good moment, the view was perfect – then it turned its head toward me, spread its wings and swept low across the yard and up into a tree along the driveway. There it sat on a low branch, again with its back toward me. In more shadows now, its colors looked a more subdued brown and orange, but the reddish shoulders still glowed, and its large head showed feathers of a dark reddish-brown.
It probably was watching for the chipmunks that live around the house, since small mammals are a Red-shouldered Hawk’s most common prey, along with other small animals like lizards, frogs and snakes. Although they do sometimes take small birds that come to feeders like the one in our yard, I can’t mind having it around. We’re very lucky to have them here in our neighborhood, and to see them fairly often.
Red-shouldered Hawks are still relatively widespread, but their populations have declined considerably in many areas of the Eastern U.S. They are woodland raptors, most at home in a deep forest of some size, though they also can be found in suburban areas where enough large trees remain. The greatest threat to Red-shouldered Hawks is continued clearing of their wooded habitat.*
I walked slowly down the driveway, trying not to disturb the hawk again, and when I went up the front steps and into the house, it had not flown and was still sitting in the same tree.