Encountering The Red-Shouldered Hawk

Today I was enjoying a day off and taking a short drive through the countryside, just enjoying the autumn leaves and fall colors, now starting to fully show themselves in the golds, browns, reds, and oranges as the leaves begin to change -- and in some cases, already beginning to fall.

In about six weeks from now all of the previously green trees from this past summer (save for the various evergreens) will be bare for the winter months here in South Carolina and North America. The grass will become a dull brown and yellow from the frosty winter mornings.

I was out and about running errands, but had my trusty camera with me. At present I'm photographing various points of interest and the autumn colors around my little corner of Dixie over the course of the month of November; all of which I plan to post at the end of the month.

While I was out, I spotted this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) perched on one of the power lines by SC Highway 9. I was able to stop and get out of my car right underneath just long enough to capture these beautiful images of this outstanding raptor before he decided to fly off.

Red-shouldered Hawks are medium-sized North American raptors (roughly between the size of a Crow and a Goose) with broad, rounded wings, and medium-length tails that they fan out when soaring.Adults are colorful with dark-and-white checkered wings and warm reddish-brown barring on the breast. The tail is black with narrow white bands and they have dark on the tips of their curved beaks.

These wonderful birds of prey can be found year-round across the eastern United States from Nova Scotia to eastern Mexico where some migrate for the winter. One subspecies of the Red-shouldered Hawk can also be found in western California.

I was fortunate to have encountered this beautiful bird and been able to share the experience with y'all here. I hope to have more photography for y'all in the near future.

Until next time, have a wonderful Dixie Day, y'all.