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Red-Tailed Hawks Buteo jamaicensis | December 4, 2011 |
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State College, or central Pennsylvania, is a marvelous place for seeing red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis). At first, I thought hawk watching was limited to hawk watch sites along the top of ridges, but I subsequently became familiar with seeing redtails most everywhere. Although they are the most common larger hawk, redtails are also beautiful.
Originally, for this page, I had some of my earliest photos from first moving to Pennsylvania in 2004, but I decided to update the page. Years passed, and I've much better photos of this magnificent hawk. Some basics: A red-tailed hawk is a buteo, or large, bulky hawk, perhaps 18 to 24 inches long with a wingspan of 48 inches. They only weigh a few pounds.
One of my favorite scenes is to watch a redtail becoming airborne.
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Of course, a hawk zooming by is a treat to see. | |
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The first two photos were of immature red-tailed hawks. In a redtail's first year, the top of the tail is a striped brown. The adult redtail has a very red tail. |
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Although the red is on the top of the tail, with good lighting, the red is also visible from below. Incidentally, many red-tailed hawks have a lot to say.
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An immature redtail soaring directly overhead can appear oblivious to everything else. | |
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A few redtails allow themselves a close inspection of a photographer. |
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To conclude: A clear photo of an immature red-tailed hawk. |
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However many photos I have of red-tailed hawks, I'll continue taking more and more of them.
Photo note: I used a Pentax K20D, with either the SMC 1000mm reflex lens or the Sigma 150-500mm lens, for these photos taken during 2010 and 2011.
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On Long Island: From the living room window: Sharp-shinned hawk | Merlin | Contact
