Soaring Red Tail Hawk #1
by Robert Bales
Title
Soaring Red Tail Hawk #1
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
While driving in the Emmett Valley, I found this red-tailed hawk soaring in the updrafts.
These beautiful birds are North America's most common hawks. They are found all over the continent, in Central America, and in the West Indies. The first of these hawks to be scientifically studied was found in Jamaica.
Red-tailed hawks are known for their brick-colored tails, but there are 14 subspecies of various colorations, and not all of them have this characteristic.
These birds of prey are also known as buzzard hawks and red hawks. By any name, they are keen-eyed and efficient hunters. Red-tails prefer open areas, such as fields or deserts, with high perching places nearby from which they can watch for prey. But these birds are adaptable and also dwell in mountains and tropical rain forests. Hawks have even embraced human habitats. They often perch on telephone poles and take advantage of the open spaces along the roadside to spot and seize mice, ground squirrels, rabbits, reptiles, or other prey.
Breeding season initiates a spectacular sequence of aerial acrobatics. Hawk pairs fly in large circles and gain great height before the male plunges into a deep dive and subsequent steep climb back to circling height. Later, the birds grab hold of one another with their talons and fall spiraling towards earth.
Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and may mate for life. They make stick nests high above the ground, in which the female lays one to five eggs each year. Both sexes incubate the eggs for four to five weeks, and feed the young from the time they hatch until they leave the nest about six weeks later.
Uploaded
December 27th, 2016
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Comments (15)
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 Views on One Image Group's Special Features Nominations For Promotion #28 . Please help your fellow artists by visiting and passing on the love to another artist in the the 1000 Views on One Image Group....L/F/Tw
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks, Christopher for the information, comments, discussion, and promotion!!
Brigitta Diaz
Gorgeous capture, nominated this image for a special feature in 1000 Views on 1 Image! L/F
William Tasker
Hi Robert! This is a fantastic capture and is now featured by Wild Birds Of The World. L/F