Why was the juvenile hawk perched on the ground? When I first caught sight of the flapping wings in the shadows beneath the trees, I assumed that the hawk had just captured a prey. However, there was no prey to be seen and the hawk just said there for what seemed to be a few minutes, looking from side to side.
I tried to be as stealthy as I could as I moved forward a little, but the hawk apparently sensed my presence and took to the air. I was surprised that it simply flew to a nearby tree and perched there. The light was a little better and I could see the hawk more clearly than when it was on the ground. There were, however, a lot of little branches, so it was not possible to get a completely unobstructed shot.
After a little while, the hawk flew to a more distant tree and I lost sight of it. I moved slowly in the direction that it had flown, scanning the trees. I finally spotted the hawk when I was almost directly below it. I got this shot of the hawk staring down at me before it flew off one final time. I guess the hawk decided that the portrait session was over.
I think that this might be a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), but I am not at all certain about my identification. Adult hawks challenge my identification skills and juveniles frustrate me even more.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Hawks are so amazing! Their size, their bravado, their stealth. Their inability to be identified, save for red tails. Beautiful shots!
Thanks, Sally. I love the combination of power and beauty that hawks possess. Normally I can’t get close enough to capture details, but this time I was pretty fortunate to be able to do so.
I sure enjoyed hearing about your magical moments with the hawk, Michael, and your photos are stunning, as always. I really like the fourth photo: the profile of the head against the blue sky, and all those lovely white wing markings, so close, so clear. Awesome portrait.
Thanks, Jet. I too an drawn to that particular photo, with the unusual expression and beautiful wing markings, though I think the last one is my favorite, with the hawk looking right at me.
Wonderful shots! He seemed happy to sit for his portrait. Hawks sometimes appear in my garden standing on the ground. Again, no prey in sight. I’ve wondered what they were doing. Surely resting in a tree is a safer bet than resting on the ground. Beautiful birds though.
Thanks, Laura. Bird behavior is often a mystery to me, though I guess that an outside viewer might be equally confused if he observed me. 🙂
Ha ha! Good point.
You got some fabulous shots, love the detail and expression.
Thanks, Charlie. It was a wonderful experience to spend time with this young hawk.
We rarely get to decide when the photo session is over. Great shots.
Thanks, Lyle. Sometimes for a brief moment we have the illusion that we are in charge, but we rarely have that power.
Beautiful shots – what a wonderful encounter you had!
Thanks. It was pretty special to be able to see a hawk from a completely different perspective than normally.
I saw a red tailed hawk on the ground several times recently and I wondered what it was doing, too. You got some great shots of this one!
Thanks, Allen. Trying to interpret the behavior of any bird or animal is tough, because it’s so hard to understand what motivates them in a given situation and what kind of information their brains are actually processing.
Great photos of this bird, Mike. You’re doing a great job finding critters to photograph these days.