Where’s Waldo? As I was observing a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in the early morning, it took off and I captured this first image, in which you can just barely make out the hawk’s face and body amid all the branches.
In the second image, the sunlight hit one of the hawk’s wings just right and illuminated it against the backdrop of the tangled branches, making the hawk a bit easier to pick out.
UPDATE: Several readers have noted that this is almost certainly a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), not a Red-shouldered Hawk—I still have lots of work to do on improving my identification skills.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Such perfect camouflage! Great shots!
Thanks, Dan. I was a pretty good distance away and was not at all sure that my photos would be in focus at all when I took them. I try to be ready for birds to fly away, but in this case, the hawk did not really give any warning at all.
Camouflage is the key to survival whether it be the hunted or the hunter. Beautiful photos, Mike! Thanks for sharing them.
Great example of camouflage. I’ve been watching a red tailed hawk hunt corn fields here.
Lovely! I look forward to your posts every morning.
Thanks. Most mornings I try to post something new (though I do miss a day here and there). I’m kind of an opportunistic shooter–you never quite know what will show up in a blog posting.
Great photos of this gorgeous raptor, Mike!
Thanks, Judy. One of the folks commented in Facebook that it looks more like a Red-tailed Hawk. Any thoughts?
Actually, I think that person is correct. On your first photo, you can see the red tail pointing right at the tree. Plus, he has a white chest, with a belly band of dark brown splotches. The Red-Shouldered would have cinnamon-colored streaks on his entire chest.
They are so magnificent, such amazing birds…
You must have great eyesight. I’m sure I’d never have seen it.
I was watching him on a more exposed branch initially. Once the hawk started to fly, I mostly just tried to track his flight path and keep the bird in the viewfinder of the camera.
Nice shot of the bird in flight, Mike. You can tell by the belly band in the second shot that this is a Red-tailed Hawk. Red-shouldered hawks have vertical red streaks on their breast, Red-tailed Hawks generally have a white breast with a brown belly band.
Thanks for the tips, Sue. We get so many more Red-shouldered Hawks at the park than Red-tailed ones that I incorrectly assumed that it was another Red-shouldered–I guess I need to look more closely every time.