Blowing in the Wind

This young Red-shouldered Hawk, with ruffled feathers, was drying off in the wind, perched on a water hazard stake at the 13 Hole of Cypress Head Golf Course.
The red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its range, though northern birds do migrate, mostly to central Mexico.
Males are 15 to 23 in long and weigh on average 1.21 lb. Females are slightly larger. The wingspan can range from 35 to 50 in.
Whether wheeling over a swamp forest or whistling plaintively from a riverine park, a Red-shouldered Hawk is typically a sign of tall woods and water. It’s one of our most distinctively marked common hawks, with barred reddish-peachy underparts and a strongly banded tail. In flight, translucent crescents near the wingtips help to identify the species at a distance.
By the time they are five days old, nestling Red-shouldered Hawks can shoot their feces over the edge of their nest. So be careful if you are standing under an active nest! Bird poop on the ground is a sign of an active nest.
The oldest-known Red-shouldered hawk was a female, and at least 25 years, 10 months old when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 2000. She had been banded in the same state in 1974.

_DS39515caf2a.JPG
Read less