Red Shouldered Hawk - Blog Posts
Took pictures of a hawk near my school
A rehabilitated, juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk moments before being released back into the wild.
Red-shouldered Hawk
It was a cloudy day, so the lighting isn’t very good, but look at how pretty those wings are!
I found a red-shouldered hawk eating a mouse at my local walmart and I got some pretty neat pictures.
Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus), adult (top) and juvenile (bottom), taken March 7, 2025, in Georgia, US
More hawk news... It seems as though one of the juveniles was able to chase the other out of this area and has staked a claim on the woods here. I've been seeing the red-tailed hawks less, and today the victorious juvenile showed up with a partner who already has adult plumage! I haven't seen adults here in at least a couple years, so this is a good sign that these two will be nesting this spring. It's fairly unusual for a hawk without adult plumage to be breeding, but definitely not unheard of and can still result in a successful brood!
The adult hawk was not happy with me taking pictures and flew to a further branch when I went outside. As usual, the juvenile was much more tolerant of my presence (likely used to my dumb ass at this point) and let me get closer before the adult called for it. It then joined the adult in a tree where they began calling together. Hopefully they nest somewhere close enough that I can monitor their progress. I'd love to see their babies once they fledge!
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken March 2, 2025, in Georgia, US
Super fucking shaky footage of one of the regular RS hawk ripping apart a squirrel nest after being chased there by another RS. So mad I had my camera on the wrong mode because this would have been such a nice video if not for the EARTHQUAKE.
At about 1:15 there's some action when the other hawk returns for another attack! They moved further up into the trees, falling through the branches before briefly scattering when a Red-tailed Hawk swooped in to break up the fight! They're probably fighting for a spot to nest this spring, but this area is already used by a pair of RT hawks, so I'm unsure how that's going to pan out. The RT's don't nest close to my house, but I do still see them soaring over and through the woods daily, so they'd definitely see a RS pair using their territory.
Previously there was a RS pair here, but they were forced to move locations when their nest tree was cut down (very salty at my neighbors for that one). Since then, the RT's have slowly been moving further and further into the area, though it's pretty wooded so it's not the best area for them and is legitimately defensible for a RS pair. I know there's been at least one juvenile RS overwintering here without trouble, possibly two seeing as they're now fighting, so we'll see how it pans out! Hopefully one of the two RS's will be successful!
Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteos lineatus), taken March 2, 2025, in Georgia, US
Unhappy, me thinks!
He hath returned...
He visited again twice today. Not sure what he's doing, but during this visit he borbed it up on a branch in the sun and then looked at things on the ground for a couple minutes before flying off. It's possible he's just weathering the winter in the area, but it'd be nice if he was thinking about spending his first nesting season here :)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken February 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
My feeder had a very large visitor this morning! Despite how close to the house it is, we get hawks perching on the feeder much more often than you would think. This guy spent over 20 minutes soaking in the late-morning sun and getting screamed at by hundreds of birds before he finally decided it was too loud. At one point a bluejay perched a few feet away in the nearby japanese maple and used up his entire arsenal of calls yelling at the hawk lol! It was extremely loud...
After a few minutes of him sunning, the smaller birds said fuck it and started eating again, and I got some decent video of him watching them flit around that I'll probably post later. I also got a video of him taking off, which I'll definitely post, but I have to figure out how to export the videos from my camera first! I've never taken video on this one before. So enjoy only photos for now!
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken February 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
I spent 15 minutes filming this doofus to catch his takeoff. My arms were numb from holding my camera so still for that long!!! Worth it in the long run though, because large bird takeoffs are absolutely fascinating to me. It's so cool to watch them fall and catch themselves!
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken February 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
My feeder had a very large visitor this morning! Despite how close to the house it is, we get hawks perching on the feeder much more often than you would think. This guy spent over 20 minutes soaking in the late-morning sun and getting screamed at by hundreds of birds before he finally decided it was too loud. At one point a bluejay perched a few feet away in the nearby japanese maple and used up his entire arsenal of calls yelling at the hawk lol! It was extremely loud...
After a few minutes of him sunning, the smaller birds said fuck it and started eating again, and I got some decent video of him watching them flit around that I'll probably post later. I also got a video of him taking off, which I'll definitely post, but I have to figure out how to export the videos from my camera first! I've never taken video on this one before. So enjoy only photos for now!
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken January 30, 2025, in Georgia, US
My best raptor photos yet! It's not very often that they sit long enough for me to get any decent photos. This guy was being harassed by a crow and was kind enough to sit and let me take pictures while he yelled back. This hawk is part of a pair that's been in my woods for probably almost a decade (if it's the same pair, that is)! They've had to relocate their nesting site in recent years due to neighbors messing with trees, but they seem to be having success still, which is great!