Red-tailed Hawk Gallery

Close-up of juvenile red-tailed hawk's face

Hawk On A Stick

It’s not uncommon to see hawks perched on the many signposts around the auto tour at Ridgefield — what I like to call hawks on a stick. Harriers and kestrels are pretty skittish and won’t stay perched, but the redtails will sometimes allow a closer examination. I wanted a slightly different portrait and waited until this juvenile redtail stretched out its neck to an unusual height before it started preening. Young birds often have pale brown eyes that will darken with age.

No Blackberry Breakfast

There’s an invasive species of blackberry that has spread across the Northwest and is prevalent at Ridgefield. A variety of animals will use the berries as food or the thickets as cover, but this young hawk was using it as a place to listen for breakfast, every sound from below drawing its eyes downward.

Another Good Sunday

I had a string of good Sundays thanks to the NFL playoffs and a fantastic Super Bowl, some fun visits to Ridgefield, and the ever present kitten madness. On this Sunday I headed up to Ridgefield at sunrise, expecting to stay for only a couple of hours, but had such a great time I ended up staying until sunset when the refuge closed.

It was a day full of red-wings and red-tails and rough-legs and ruddies. And even some birds that don’t begin with ‘r’, like eagles and herons and song sparrows and harriers and four meadowlarks (Oregon’s state bird, which I hadn’t seen in years). The sky was heavily overcast and didn’t make for the best backdrop for this juvenile red-tailed hawk, but it was still fun to see so this hunter up close. The dried blood on its bill is a sober reminder that it wasn’t such a good day for some little critter at the refuge.

Soaring

I only had an hour at the end of the day to drive the auto tour, having just returned from a trip back east to be with my family after my step-father’s funeral. Still grieving, that brief hour helped lift my spirits, and this redtail was part of the finale of a lovely evening, followed soon thereafter by a group of tundra swans taking flight against a pink sky.

Whiteout

A red-tailed hawk that didn’t give up on looking for voles despite the heavy fog that blanketed the meadow. Or should I say didn’t stop listening for voles …

Red-tailed hawk captures a Townsend's vole

A redtail catches and then pulls apart a Townsend's vole. In the second picture where it is pulling the flesh from the vole, you can get a glimpse at the leg feathers that adorn the redtail's upper legs.

	Another Good Sunday I had a string of good Sundays thanks to the NFL playoffs and a fantastic Super Bowl, some fun visits to Ridgefield, and the ever present kitten madness. On this Sunday I headed up to Ridgefield at sunrise, expecting to stay for only a couple of hours, but had such a great time I ended up staying until sunset when the refuge closed. It was a day full of red-wings and red-tails and rough-legs and ruddies. And even some birds that don’t begin with ‘r’, like eagles and herons and song sparrows and harriers and four meadowlarks (Oregon’s state bird, which I hadn’t seen in years). The sky was heavily overcast and didn’t make for the best backdrop for this juvenile red-tailed hawk, but it was still fun to see so this hunter up close. The dried blood on its bill is a sober reminder that it wasn’t such a good day for some little critter at the refuge.
	Soaring I only had an hour at the end of the day to drive the auto tour, having just returned from a trip back east to be with my family after my step-father’s funeral. Still grieving, that brief hour helped lift my spirits, and this redtail was part of the finale of a lovely evening, followed soon thereafter by a group of tundra swans taking flight against a pink sky.
	Whiteout A red-tailed hawk that didn’t give up on looking for voles despite the heavy fog that blanketed the meadow. Or should I say didn’t stop listening for voles …