I spotted this juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as it perched high in a distant tree. It was cold and breezy, so I kept one of my hands inside the pouch of my hooded sweatshirt much of the time. Similarly the hawk appeared to be trying to stay warm by tucking one of its feet inside its puffed out feathers with only the tips of his talons exposed.
The hawk was very alert and soon sensed my presence and flew a short distance to a tree a little farther away. It perched there for only a few moments before it took off again and I was able to capture the second shot below. I was pretty lucky with the timing of the shot, because I managed to capture a relatively clear view of the hawk’s head in between the the branches of the tree. Serendipitously I also captured a tiny branch in midair that had been dislodged as the hawk pushed away from the branch—you may need to enlarge the photo to see the branch, but it is in the lower left-hand corner of the image.
I am pretty sure this is a Red-shouldered Hawk, but identification is sometimes a little tricky for me with immature birds. Earlier this season, for example, I spotted an immature Cooper’s Hawk that had markings similar to this hawk. However that hawk seemed to have longer tail feathers and a slimmer body than this one. Here is a link to that 3 November 2021 posting entitles Cooper’s Hawk (immature), in case you want to do your own visual comparison between the two hawks.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful. Merry Xmas, Mike, and thank you for sharing all your lovely photos throughout 2021.
Thanks, Tricia. Merry Christmas to you and to your family and friends. Thanks so much for your constant words of support and encouragement. Although I like to say that I take photos and write this blog mostly to please myself, I derive a great deal of pleasure from sharing my creative efforts with others and gaining insights into how they are perceiving the world.
Patience is your best helper, Mike.
Amen to that, Dan. You’re read enough of my postings to know that I often credit my most successful images to patience and persistence (and a bit of luck) more than to my gear or my skill. Fortunately I seem to be blessed with an abundance of patience and persistence. I think that is what drew me to long-distance running at a certain time in my life–when I was younger I ran twelve full-length marathons. 🙂
Wow! That’s impressive, Mike.
Mike I am sure it is some sort of hawk. The last time I tried being pretty I am sure I sprained something bad. As for the cold hands I have gone over to fingerless gloves. Both indoors and out. Warmer hands is a good thing. Merry Christmas sir to you and yours.
Nice images Mike! Always fun to see hawk images!
The young hawk’s plumage is like a beautiful fluffy, cosy, cloak. Lovely photos! Merry Christmas Mike 🙂
Thanks, Liz. I love the idea of a fluffy, cozy cloak, particularly because the temperatures the last few nights have dropped below the freezing level. Merry Christmas.
Thank you for this capture and all the beautiful photos this year! Merry Christmas, Mike!