This gorgeous hawk was not too concerned about me. However it was closely watching the grass below its perch, no doubt waiting for the right moment to drop on some unsuspecting rodent. Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.
Who me?
A young Red-Tailed Hawk has a bit of a guilty look, perhaps due to the fact it had just killed a #prairie #dog and was chowing down on it for lunch. You don’t have to go to far outside the Denver metro area to find prairie dog colonies and when you do, you can bet there are raptors nearby keeping watch. I absolutely loved the look on this ones face. Notice the blood on its face and also notice the rodent lying at its feet / talons.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk gives a serious look
You may recognize this young hawk from a picture I posted last week of it devouring a mouse whole. This image was taken a bit before it had that meal when it was standing guard near its kill.
Normally Red-tails are pretty skittish and not likely to let you get close but this juvenile was a bit less wise and definitely not willing to leave its meal unguarded. While I and two friends snapped away with our cameras, the hawk seemed a bit annoyed that it had to wait to eat until pictures were done. 😉
Taken along the South Platte River in Thornton, Colorado.
Down the hatch!
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk enjoys its dinner on the banks of the South Platte River. Out for a walk along the South Platte River after work and I ran into a couple fellow shutterbugs I know. We walked and talked for a while, not seeing anything too extraordinary. On the way back one of my friends notices this young Red-Tailed Hawk sitting low on a tree not 10 feet away and not bothered by us at all. It was clear it had a kill nearby and wasn’t going to leave it. We snapped away and it eventually jumped into the brush, retrieved its mouse dinner and proceeded to swallow it whole on the bank of the river. Pretty neat and fun to see.
Watchful young Red-tailed Hawk
This juvenile was very focused and was not disturbed one bit when I walked right up under it. A few minutes later I learned it was keeping watch on its kill in a nearby bush (see the pic I posted Saturday). I don’t take many pics of Red-tails as they are common and also quite skittish. This time I am glad I took the opportunity as I love the detail of this shot.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk catches its lunch
I didn’t have much luck for pics today – until the very end. While waiting for new tires to be put on my truck, I went to a nearby park, camera in hand of course. I was lucky enough to come across a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk just as it was snatching a mouse from a bush. It didn’t take but a few minutes for it to devour the whole thing. Very cool to watch.
I’m ignoring you!
A juvenile Bald Eagle seemed less than thrilled that a young Red Tailed Hawk joined him on his perch yesterday. The hawk soon headed off, apparently getting the idea of the cold shoulder.
The odd couple
The Bald Eagle is of course obvious but on first glance I thought the darker bird was a crow or raven. Upon closer inspection I came to realize it was a hawk, a dark morph Rough-Legged Hawk. Pretty excited about that as these are not particularly common in Colorado. These raptors winter in much of the lower 48 but actually spend summers nesting in the Arctic.
Photographer ahead. Break hard left!
‘Photographer ahead. Break hard left!’ I caught this young Red Tailed Hawk a bit by surprise last week. I was standing next to my truck which was parked by a utility pole and I was trying to get pics of some harriers over a field. I see something out of the corner of my eye and as I look to my right there is a hawk flying right toward me and going to land on the pole.
Just as I pivot and start snapping away, the hawk seemed to realize I was there and had an “Oh shoot” moment – as did I. He broke hard left and headed off in the other direction but I managed a couple shots first. Pretty funny but also darned happy with the image. Probably one of the best action shots I have ever captured.
Red Tailed Hawk catches a coot
Out for a drive northeast of Denver today and I see a flurry of activity near the road. Four hawks were clearly enjoying some sort of meal. As I got closer, three flew off but one lingered. I was able to get a few images of the Red Tail as it took off and flew away with what was left of an American Coot. Unfortunately it flew right into the sun so the images didn’t come out that great but it was a lot of fun to see.
View more pictures of the event below the main image.