Saturday, September 22, 2012

Red-Tailed Hawks, Northern Illinois

A Red-tailed Hawk checking out the action on Blood Points Rd., Cherry Valley, IL; 8/1/2011.
This fall raptors have been on the move migrating towards their winter hunting grounds. Although I haven't been out to enjoy this season's migration, I have been keeping up with the IBET posts, and there seems to be a lot of sightings of raptors in the Northern Illinois area.  One of our more common raptors is the Red-tailed Hawk (Above), which we see year round especially along rural roadsides.
The same Red-tailed Hawk sitting on an electrical pole on Blood Points Rd., Cherry Valley, IL; 8/1/2011.
As I was biking along Blood Points Road a year ago, I saw this majestic Hawk sitting on an electrical pole (Above), which I soon recognized as a Red-tailed Hawk as I zoomed in on it to get its picture. Its obvious red tail sticking out past its wing tips was the give away. It flew across the road and settled on a dead branch not far away (Top photo).
Another Red-tailed Hawk sitting in a small tree off the loop road in Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/23/2011.
A Red-tailed Hawk soaring over a prairie, Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve, Cherry Valley, IL; 4/21/2012.
Another easy identification of this hawk, as its red tail is back lit by the late afternoon sun.

2 comments:

~Val said...

The ruffly feathers in photo #3 almost give him an owl-like appearance.

Unknown said...

Hi there. Great pics, what a face. I live in Toronto, Ontario and recently, my wife, Jean, and I came upon an adult Red-tailed Hawk in Markham, Ontario. We have read that stalking a hawk is no easy task,that you have to sneak up on them when they are looking the other way. Well, this Hawk was only looking one way when it landed, and that was right at us! Fortunately, we had our camera with us and got some good pictures and video. We have posted them for anyone interested at: http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-red-tailed-hawk-sighting-markham-ontario