Welcome to Week #36 of the Bird Weekly Photo Challenge. Week #36 challenge is all about the Hawks!
The feature image is a Red-shouldered Hawk.
Accipitriformes is an order of avians with 262 species and 75 genera in 4 extant families. Accipitriformes is derived from the latin word accipiter “hawk” plus new latin -iformes “like”. There are three families within the order. Accipitridae, meaning small to large birds with strongly hooked bills; includes hawks, eagles, vultures, harriers and kites. Pandionidae includes the osprey and Sagittariidae includes the secretarybird. It may also include an extinct family called Teratornithidae which was a large bird of prey living in North and South America.
Accipitriformes does not include falcons. The DNA of falcons have matched them to be closely related to parrots and passerines. The Black Vulture and Turkey Vulture found in North America are not among these either. They belong to the order Cathartiformes and the family Cathartidae.
Osprey
The Osprey is the only species in its family of Pandionidae. The Osprey can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are found wherever water is present. Their diet consists of fresh fish. They can live 15-20 years.
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk is a North American bird of prey. They are often seen flying high above at treetop level looking for birds to snack on. They will fly through vegetation to get a meal. Often times, they are unwanted visitors at bird feeders. In the instance of this photo, this Cooper’s Hawk swooped in trying to capture birds on our feeders with no success, landing on the electrical wires leading from the street to our house. I was in the dining room eating lunch when it all happened. I keep my camera on the table at all times ready so I was able to get the photo through the window. This was the first time I’ve seen one in my yard just a couple of days ago.
Red-shouldered Hawks
Red-shouldered Hawks are found in North America and are one of the most distinctive hawks with their high pitched whistle. It is the most common hawk in Florida. They are easy to identify when perched like this pair, but in flight, translucent crescents near the wingtip help with identification.
Ferruginous Hawk
Found mostly in the central and western part of the United States, the Ferruginous Hawk is found in prairies, deserts and open ranges. They hunt from high in the sky or perched from a lone tree. This one was hunting and we watched it swoop down into the prairie grass and perch up on the electrical pole in Montana at dusk.
Harris’s Hawk
Harris’s Hawk is a favorite among falconers. In the wild, these hawks are found in the southwestern part of the U.S., Mexico, South America and small areas in Europe. This one lives in Florida with his handler and other birds of prey. Harris’s Hawk hunt in groups cooperatively which makes it easier for them to capture prey together, rather than individually.
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is another North American predator and happens to be the National Bird of the United States since 1782. In the native American community, the Bald Eagle has been a spiritual symbol for far longer than the U.S. has been a union. This bird was once endangered, but through many conservation efforts, they are flourishing and making a tremendous comeback.
Upcoming challenges can be found on my Bird Weekly Challenge Page.
Next time…Week #37 – Birds with White Feathers
Our Eyes Open 
Comments
68 responses to “Bird Weekly – Photo Challenge – Hawks”
You have a wonderful collection of Hawk images, and sightings Lisa! I have yet to see a Harris or Ferruginous Hawks.
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Both of those birds are out west. I’ve seen the Harris’s Hawk while out there, but no good photos. You have a better chance of seeing them than I do. The Harris’s Hawk was a fluke. I had gone on a walk with one of my granddaughters in their neighborhood and just happened to meet one of their neighbors who was a falconer. He saw me with my binoculars and camera and asked if I was a birder. It was amazing!
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I love it stuff like that happens!
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Me too! 🙂
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When I’m at the beach, I occasionally see an osprey – more commonly perched on a bridge’s rail looking at the water as I drive by. Even seen Bald Eagles nesting on the Alabama coast. When I’m at home, Red-Tailed Hawks are a common sight. I also seen a Bald Eagle there November through March – and gloriously witnessed it swooping toward the water, and then flying away with a fish. Then again, when I cruised in Alaska, Bald Eagles are very common.
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Red-tailed Hawks are quite common here too. One got and took away our Love Bird many years ago. Red-shouldered Hawks are the most common. Bald Eagles are quite common in Washington and Alaska. They are making a come back so hopefully, they will be more common throughout the US. Since they are not just fish eaters, they can survive just about anywhere there is a body of water. 🙂
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Wonderful snaps
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Thank you so much! They are interesting for sure. 🙂
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Yes👍🏻
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Those two Red-shouldered Hawks is a lovely image. Nice challenge but I’m lacking in hawk shots sadly.
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Thanks so much Brian. Next week should be easier! Everyone has white feathered birds. 🙂 It is always awesome to see birds paired up.
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[…] Thanks as always to Lisa. […]
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Wonderful hawks, I especially love Harris Hawks 🙂
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I love that bird as well. It was sheer luck that I got to be that close to it. A fluke because I took a walk with my granddaughter around her neighborhood. 🙂
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The unexpected ones are the best 🙂
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Yes it is! That is what is great about birding. Many times, there is unexpected things happen. 🙂
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Fantastic shots, Lisa.
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Thanks Irene! 🙂
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Nice! Who doesn’t love the Osprey? One day I hope to see it. You are fortunate.
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I hope you get to see it someday. Guess a trip to Florida is in order once the pandemic is gone. I think you have a couple years to plan. LOL! 🙂
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You have a great collection here Lisa! I will have to search through my photos for hawks!
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Thanks Aletta! I look forward to seeing what you got. 🙂
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I am searching!
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🙂
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[…] The Bird Weekly Photo Challenge: Hawks […]
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So majestic and graceful. Beautiful images, as always.
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Thank you so much Chrissie! 🙂
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Nice shots! I ha a young hawk in my backyard stalking my bird feeder. Thought it was a cooper’s, but someone said it could be a red shouldered or a red tailed.
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Each of those hawks are distinctive. Often times it takes a pair of binoculars to tell which one it is. 🙂
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I was told the young ones are more brown, which it was. They don’t get the more reddish colors until later.
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That is correct. It is like that with a lot of species. Bald Eagles are a perfect example. They don’t reach full adult plumage for up to 5 years. 🙂
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all of these are such impressive birds…
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I think so too Jim. To have the Cooper’s Hawk fly into my yard this week and while I was watching was quite incredible. 🙂
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once again, right place, right time!
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Yep sure was! If I had been back here at the computer working, I would have missed it. 🙂
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makes me think of all the things I’ve missed while sitting in front of my computer…
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Sometimes you just have to leave the old ball and chain (computer) behind and discover things. 🙂
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how true! and with iphones, even when we leave the house, it’s like we still have a computer with us… 🙂
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So true! 🙂
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they are an amazing device…
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Yes they are. Not too fond of Siri, but I don’t have to talk to her. LOL! 🙂
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I do enjoy, on occasion, asking Siri some nonsensical question just to see what her response will be…
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That is fun! But to get real info from her is like pulling eye teeth. It’s faster to get my info by googling it myself. Now, Alexa is a lot better at it. 🙂
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I also find Alexa better than Siri for most things…
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🙂
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Lovely shots. I don´t think I have a single shot of a hawk…
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Oh, Maria….I’m sorry that you don’t have any, but I’m sure we will see you back next week. Birds with white feathers. You will be missed. 🙂
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Love your photos and teaching me more about hawks.
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Thanks Beth and I’m happy to help. I love doing this so much! 🙂
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[…] Redtails and Cooper’s Hawk for Bird Weekly: hawks. […]
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[…] Bird Weekly Challenge – Hawks […]
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[…] BirdWeekly:…Hawks […]
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I liked the photo of the pair of red-shouldered hawks. They look like they’re posing for you and showing their best side. 🙂 I didn’t know of falcon’s relation to parrots & passerines. Interesting.
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Thanks Siobhan. They were pretty cooperative. Always interesting to learn something new, isn’t it? I learn something new almost every week. Keeps me going! 🙂
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[…] some images of birds at their feeders, I have a a couple of hawk images to share, in response to Lisa’s Bird Weekly challenge. The image is of the White-tailed Kite family we had living in our former neighborhood in […]
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Hi Lisa! Are Bald eagles part of the hawk family? Your hawks are glorious and so well-photographed! I’m having fun with “feeding the birds” today: https://secondwindleisure.com/2021/02/21/sunday-stills-feeding-those-birds/
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Yes they are in the same family. I’m working on the Feeding the Birds post. I’ll post it in a couple of days. Love your birds and the kites! So glad things are moving on the house now and congratulations on the new job! So sorry to here about your MIL. She is in a better place. 🥰
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Thanks for those kind words, Lisa! I’m pleased our themes lined up this week (and next) and we both should see more bloggers showing off their birds this week!
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Are you stalking my themes? LOL! If you are, keep up the good work! I’m really excited that things are moving along on your house finally. I know that you have been quite stressed out over the situation and I completely understand where you are coming from. My ex-husband & I had a house built from the bottom up and our manager got ill at the beginning. I became my own manager, going morning, noon and night…contacting the builder and following it the whole time. What should have taken 2 1/2 months, was almost 5 months. Hang in there! It is so worth it! 🙂
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The biggest issues are the delays with permits these days. It won’t be long. I’m glad you post your themes way far in advance, Lisa. Sometimes they work together!
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Permits do take a while. I’m sure even longer right now with covid with more people working from home. I know you are getting excited! 🙂
Anytime you want to work your themes in with my, I’m happy about it. 🙂
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[…] Bird Weekly Photo Challenge – Hawks […]
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[…] Hawks […]
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Great images of these hawks Lisa.
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Thanks so much Anita! 🙂
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Here is mine Lisa.–
https://100countrytrek.com/2021/02/23/bird-weekly-photo-challenge-hawks/
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[…] Coleman’s Bird Weekly challenge this week features […]
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[…] Lisa Coleman – Co author/collaborator […]
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