Red Tailed Hawk | Tony's Takes Photography

A bad day for the Easter Bunny

April 2, 2023 by Tony

Okay, some might not find that funny but I do. 😀

A very fun encounter with this young red-tailed hawk yesterday. My friend and I were following a pair of bald eagles and as we walked along, I turned my head toward him and spotted this gorgeous raptor in a tree we were walking by.

Like with a lot of young wildlife, it has not yet developed that healthy fear of humans which made for a great photo op for those same humans. We soon realized it had a rabbit in its talons, well, at least the rabbit from the neck up.

After giving us some great poses, it took flight right toward us. Light was kind of tough in the shadows, but this is my favorite of the sequence as you get a good look at the hawk and its breakfast.

Red tailed hawk makes an afternoon snack of a mouse

March 4, 2023 by Tony

On my way home from work yesterday, I drove around our neighborhood, still searching for years for our local great horned owls’ nest. No luck on that front but I did find one of the other area residents. I frequently spot pair of red tailed hawks and they have on occasion visit our yard. Yesterday they were a couple of blocks over and one had caught itself a mouse for an afternoon snack. Normally red tails are quite skittish but this one was so focused on its meal, it didn’t mind me photographing it as it dined. Kind of graphic but that is nature, life and death, predator and prey. Plus, I think, pretty danged cool. 😉

A red tailed hawk dines on a mouse it caught. (© Tony's Takes) — A red tailed hawk dines on a mouse it caught. (© Tony’s Takes)

Red tailed hawk shows off its catch, opts to dine in private

January 30, 2023 by Tony Leave a Comment

A fun, brief encounter with this very common raptor. These red tails have a nest that I oftentimes drive by but I rarely stop to take pictures as they are almost always reluctant to pose for pics.

As I went by this past weekend, one was standing on a light pole, bending over in a clear indication it had something to eat. That, I decided, was worth trying for.

Sure enough, the hawk had itself a nice little vole it was planning to eat for breakfast. It picked it up, showed it to me briefly, and is the norm for them, it took off to find someplace private to dine.

A red tailed hawk flies off with a vole it caught. (© Tony's Takes) — A red tailed hawk flies off with a vole it caught. (© Tony’s Takes)

Video slideshow – top shots 2022: Raptors

December 28, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Beautiful and yet vicious, whether a falcon, hawk or eagle, raptors are amazing creatures and the kings and queens of the skies. I don’t know how many different species of them I have photographed but there have been quite a few from North America’s smallest falcon, the American kestrel, to one of its biggest raptors, the gorgeous golden eagle.

Red tailed hawk visits the wildlife photographer’s backyard

July 25, 2022 by Tony

Sometimes you don’t have to go far for wildlife! 😉

I didn’t take any photo excursions at all this weekend as I just had too much going on. Well, this guy / gal made a nice consolation prize yesterday evening. Sitting at the kitchen table working and I see something with big wings fly by. I grab my camera, run out and find one of our neighborhood red tails was perched in one of our pine trees.

They have been around for years but this is the first time I have gotten decent pics of one of them. Awesome stuff!

Mama bald eagle defends her home and young ones

April 23, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Not a high-quality capture but one that showcases some pretty darned cool behavior.

Taken a few weeks ago at my favorite bald eagle nest. As I was observing mama and her two eaglets, I see a red-tailed hawk approaching. That wasn’t surprising as they too have a nest in the area. What was unusual was the hawk did not give a wide berth to the eagle’s home like it usually does and in fact, almost seemed to forget the eagles were there and tried to land in the same tree!

Needless to say, mama eagle was not happy and raised a huge ruckus, sounding off and flapping her wings. The hawk quickly realized its mistake and moved on, a wise choice for sure.

Bald eagles are actually pretty social, tolerating other eagles and even hawks – except when it is nesting season. During that time, they defend their home territory vigorously as this shows.

American robin tries to take on a red tailed hawk

March 26, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

A fun few images. I was photographing the hawk as it approached when suddenly, this little robin came out of nowhere. It was clearly not pleased with the raptor’s presence in its nesting area and came to escort it out of its territory.

The little bird never got any closer than shown in these images and I don’t think the hawk even knew it was there as you can tell it was quite focused on me. Fun to see and amazing how these little birds show no fear sometimes in taking on birds that are far bigger.

An American robin tries to take on a red tailed hawk in the air. (© Tony's Takes) — An American robin tries to take on a red tailed hawk in the air. (© Tony’s Takes)

Red tailed hawk defends its territory against a visiting bald eagle

March 4, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Well, this was some fun action to witness, even if the pics aren’t all that high of quality.

After work yesterday, I visited a local pond, expecting to see some bald eagle activity. That turned out to be a good move as a few eagles were snagging fish from the recently thawed waters. However, the big raptor’s presence wasn’t welcomed by all.

Indeed, local red-tailed hawks were less than keen on the intrusion on their territory and sought to chase off the eagles. When one eagle approached and began circling, considering a fishing expedition, one of the hawks met it in the air and an impressive aerial battle ensued. Multiple times the red tail intercepted the bald eagle, both extending talons to attack and defend, twisting, turning and flipping around.

More than once one of the raptors found itself flying inverted, fending off an attack. I admit to smiling and thinking of the famous scene from Top Gun… “Because I was inverted.” Anyway, while the pics aren’t all that awesome due to the distance and me shooting into the sun, the action is way cool.

Have a fantastic Freedom Friday. I know I am saying to myself TGIF right now.

A red tailed hawk attempts to chase off a bald eagle intruding in its territory. (© Tony's Takes) — A red tailed hawk attempts to chase off a bald eagle intruding in its territory. (© Tony’s Takes)

What time was it?

January 23, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

I’m trying to remember what time I took this picture of this hawk yesterday. 😉

Not a particularly exciting photo excursion yesterday morning as I found few subjects and those I had weren’t particularly cooperative. This dark morph red tailed hawk did make for a fun few images though as it perched on the Adams County Government Center’s clock.

Young red-tailed hawk scores a slithering lunch

December 11, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

A young red-tailed hawk catches a garter snake. (© Tony's Takes) — A young red-tailed hawk catches a garter snake. (© Tony’s Takes)

Sometimes you just get lucky as I did when I came across this young hawk on the ground two days ago. I figured it had to be on a kill as otherwise they would never sit like that. Quickly I found a spot to stop and carefully approached, realizing it had caught itself a nice little garter snake.

The raptor was so engrossed in eating its meal, it ignored me, allowing me to get quite close and capture the action from first bite to last. Over the 20 minutes or so I spent with it, I shot nearly 600 pics – more than I have shot of a single subject in a long time.

Truly was an awesome thing to see and the hawk came away well fed. The snake, well, clearly it had had better days. 😉 My favorite is the last in the series.