Photo Study Of A Red-tailed Hawk In My Backyard Today, December 28th, 2010

     Rosemarie gave me a "honey-do list" today that was as long as my arm. After several hours of forced labor, I asked if I could take a break and go out birding for an hour.
     She said it was ok as long as I didn't leave the yard. She even took both sets of car keys away from me. There is justice! It was meant to be! Look what was in my backyard!

      The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is probably the most common hawk in North America. If  you look carefully, you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car 
    ride, anywhere in our area. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings. Other times you’ll see them atop telephone poles,
    eyes fixed on the ground to catch the movements of a vole or a rabbit, or simply waiting out cold weather before climbing a thermal updraft into the sky. When flapping, their
    wingbeats are heavy. In high winds they may face into the wind and hover or kite without flapping, eyes fixed on the ground. They attack in a slow, controlled dive with legs
    outstretched – much different from a falcon’s stoop. At this time of year, there are at least seven Red-tails within a mile of my home.
    (Cornell BNA; Wikipedia; Sibley Guide To Birds)

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