JUST flew onto branch @ my front door!

[elleng]

[griffi94]

1. What a beauty

Great photo. Thank you for sharing it.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. A big hawk (I guess?). Nice picture.

[MontanaMama]

3. Red Tail?

[Nictuku]

4. Gorgeous!

I have a different reaction when I see one of these beauties on one of the trees near my house. I chase them away!

They come to hunt the other birds that come to my bird feeders.

So it is a Love/Hate relationship I have with hawks.

[magicarpet]

5. The one by one,...

...menagerie.

[sagetea]

6. That's so beautiful

And eerie! I had a fledgling red tailed in my yard for 10 days and it flew off, she’s back and sitting in my oak tree! Gonna try to post a pic!

Just tried to post a picture but it isn’t working for my.


sage

[Probatim]

7. Quite possibly a first year Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA).

Chest markings and lack of red on the tail make me think this. Only adult RTHA have the reddish tails. Juveniles are darker with faint/narrow bands on the tail.

Too thick to be an accipiter (Cooper's or Sharp-shinned hawks).

It could be a different buteo (Red-shouldered or Broad-winged hawks) but given your location and time of the year - plus the dark bands on the white feathers under the tail - make me think it's an RTHA.

(Laughing at myself being a bird geek on a political forum.)

[elleng]

8. Thanks so much for the details, Probatim.