The loud screams of a hawk rang out for extended periods of time during one of my trips to Huntley Meadows Park this past weekend. I couldn’t tell for sure if it was a single hawk or more than one, but the screams seemed to be those of a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). (You can hear the distinctive sound of this hawk by following this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.)
The calls seemed to be coming from deep in the woods, but eventually a hawk flew overhead. The light was good enough that I was able to capture a pretty good amount of the beautiful details of this impressive-looking raptor, including the one feather at the tip of the wings that seems a bit frayed.
I think this is a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk, perhaps the one that was making the calls that I had heard a bit earlier. As always, I welcome any corrections in my identification from more experienced birders.
UPDATE: One of my Facebook readers weighed in and noted that this is a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a fine looking specimen!
Here in the Sonoran desert we see a lot of Copper’s and Red-tailed hawks, but most of the time I need more power to capture these beauties. (300mm doesn’t do it.) The other morning I was out early jogging when a golden eagle flew to a top branch of a nearby mesquite tree, maybe 30 ft. away. That kind of thing never happens when you have a camera.
Check out this link:
for some great rafter photos by Ned Harris. He’s my Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist mentor. He shoots a Canon EOS-1D X DSLR Camera with some great Canon lens.
Nice shot. I run into a red tailed hawk here occasionally so I know that shots like that aren’t easy to get.