Red-Tailed Hawk

[Calindy]

My son walked out in the front yard (Phelan) the other day, and this hawk was in our front yard! We have a pet parrot, and we think the hawk knows that!

[firefightersteve]

Yep...he's looking for dinner....

[phoenixgirl]

Thanks for sharing the pictures.  They are such magnificent beautiful creatures.

[FIGHT ON]

Is this a red tailed hawk?
Screaming a lot.
I need a zoom lens!

[Calindy]

Looks like one to me.

[Joe Schmoe]

As a general trend, I think I'm seeing more Red Tails out here in the desert than before.  From none about 5 years ago, to modestly frequently recently....(ly ly ly... ).  One would think that loss of habitat isn't so much an issue over the past few years.  Climate change?  Decent rains, maybe?

[Naughty pines]

While at the Mountain Hardware show I saw two birds similiar to these circling in the air east of town for about five minutes,

[makgirl]

Earlier this month, while at the vet in Phelan, the lady from forever wild was in picking up *gulp* one of two baby deer that someone BROUGHT HOME from Wrightwood then called her to take care of.  Both babies died, and their mother was probably distraught that her kids were gone...but that is another story.

One of the things she said was that the sanctuary had calls every day from various agencies to pick up wild animals- at that time she said she had 11 red tailed hawks, 2 owls and a host of other critters just recieved within the week.  It would appear that things are tough all over- even in the animal world!

p.s.  When I was again at the vet on Thursday, the forever wild lady was again at Phelan Pet clinic- Dr. Burch had spayed and neutered two baby racoons and she was there to pick them up.   All this on their own dime.  I have to remember to send them a donation.

[FIGHT ON]

[Joe Schmoe]

Of the four pictures above, the first is not a Red Tail - their tails aren't that thin.  2nd and 3rd are either doves or pigeons - not the normal rat-style pigeons you see everywhere...there is a jumbo sized species of pigeon.  I've seen them up in the mtns around Wrightwood too.  4th pic is too hard to tell, but if it's the same bird as is shown in the 1st, then I'd say no.

[Tomas]

good observations Joe Schmoe,

The first picture looks more like a Turkey Vulture. The head even looks a little pink. The thinh that is stumping my is how straight the front edge of the wings are. They tend to have more of a chevron shaped front edge. I think the 2nd picture is a dove on the left and a band tailed pigeon on the right. The 3rd picture is a band tailed pigeon. The 4th picture is a tough angle. It looks like it could be a red-tail.

The solo picture of the red-tail is great. 

[FIGHT ON]

closer looks at the 5 pics
1) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902622372_NKnxs-X3.jpg
2) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902611246_iESmj-X3.jpg
3) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902611057_Bek6d-X3.jpg
4) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902615067_9gSNk-X3.jpg
5) http://fighton.smugmug.com/Other/birds/P6270008/917056355_MqKWG-X3.jpg

[Tomas]

closer looks at the 5 pics
1) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902622372_NKnxs-X3.jpg
2) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902611246_iESmj-X3.jpg
3) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902611057_Bek6d-X3.jpg
4) http://www.smugmug.com/photos/902615067_9gSNk-X3.jpg
5) http://fighton.smugmug.com/Other/birds/P6270008/917056355_MqKWG-X3.jpg

After looking a little closer at picture 4. I know it's not a red-tail. The dead give away is the shape of the wings. Red-tails do not have the finger like feathers at the ends.

Picture 4 might be something much more interesting... It actually looks a bit like a golden eagle. The tail is a bit thin but the wing and head shape look right. We had one around Jackson Lake for a short period of time last year. It looks to be about the right size next to that palm tree.

[SkierBob]

Red-tails do not have the finger like feathers at the ends.

I really like those two pictures at the top of this thread..

here's a good example of finger like feathers.. so what type of bird is this?

[Tomas]

That's a red-tail starting a dive or flapping it's wings. When you're comparing wing shape it's important to compare during a glide. Wind will separate feathers while the wings are flapping. I imagine heavy Antelope Valley winds don't help either.

In this picture you can see how the front edge of the wings have a distict V shape and the "fingers" are along the back of the wings. Of course, the sun shining through the red tail feathers is also a dead give away.

That's a great picture Bob. You really caught the Hawk's coloring. You can also see the nice wide tail.

[SkierBob]

That's a red-tail starting a dive or flapping it's wings. When you're comparing wing shape it's important to compare during a glide. Wind will separate feathers while the wings are flapping. I imagine heavy Antelope Valley winds don't help either.

He was actually soaring in one place riding the upslope 20mph Northeast winds .  I video taped his flight then captured the still image off of the video.  The video when played in slow motion was very cool as you could see the hawk make ever so slight adjustments to his wings to maintain his position on the slope. 

[Tomas]

That's very cool Bob.

[SkierBob]

Here's one I took back in January near the Crowely Lake dam. I recall the temp that morning was about 5 below zero and this fella was just sitting in this snag.  He let me ride my snowmobile up to him and snap the photo.

[Joe Schmoe]

the temp that morning was about 5 below zero and this fella was just sitting in this snag.  He let me ride my snowmobile up to him and snap the photo.

...he didn't move because he was a bird-sicle at that point. lol

I'm still not sure about the bird in question. If I see the picture correctly, there is a black bar at the base of a dark grey tail.  I've seen this kind of bird before (it hunts/lives near my office), but wasn't able to identify it - my book doesn't show anything with a tail like that.  Most pictures are of males...it might be a female.  Maybe the tail is canted to the left to turn the bird to the right and maybe it is a Red Tail...or a Golden Eagle.

Where were the pictures taken?

[FIGHT ON]

Where were the pictures taken?

1-4 from my back yard.
5 from the hills above altadena.

I'm pretty sure the bird in 1 and 4 are the same. Lives on top of the tree where the bird in 2 is landing.
and man does it SCREAM!!!!!!!