This gorgeous Red-tailed Hawk was flying over my house and decided to land at the top of this pine tree. Lucky for me! He/She sat there for the longest time looking for lunch. After awhile it flew off to hunt somewhere else.
~2021 Fall Hawk Migration is under way be on the lookout for them! Here is a nice site to checkout!
The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide.
The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the “chickenhawk”, though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens. The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts.
The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas. Its latitudinal limits fall around the tree line in the Arctic and the species is absent from the high Arctic.
It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico, and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The 14 recognized subspecies vary in appearance and range, varying most often in color, and in the west of North America, red-tails are particularly often strongly polymorphic, with individuals ranging from almost white to nearly all black.
This white-headed American Robin was a recent visitor to our yard; its only interest seemed to be, drinking water from a bird bath. It appeared very skittish.
A White-headed American Robin
I was glad to see it had a friend to keep it company.
An Odd Couple
Keep your feeders full during these fall months:
Please be aware that migrating birds need food and water to help them along their long journey. Some travel thousands of miles during migration and need the extra help in consuming needed calories. Keeping your bird feeders out and full of food is a tremendous help. Migrating birds require a lot of energy, which comes from the foods they consume along their migration path.
I saw, for the first time in a long time, a Pink-Sided Junco eating at one of my feeders today. I enjoyed seeing this little bird, which is one of my favorites. How many favorites can a person have? {grins}.
Also, this morning there were several others eating at the various feeders in my yard: Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, Spotted Towhee, Western Scrub Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, Northern Flicker, House Finch, American Robin, Morning Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove and Blue Jay.
The hummingbirds that were so entertaining just a week ago, as they fought for food, and probably just for the pure joy of it, have decided to head south. Sad as it is to see them go, go they must. I am glad they stopped by my yard to refuel for several days. Perhaps we will see a few more as they migrate through (the feeders are out and ready).
Happy Birding!
Sharing with Charlotte at Prairie Birder. To view her beautiful bird photos and to learn about birding click the link below:
Wolf Song Blog 