November 17, 2009

Red-tailed hawk in Racine

RacinePost reader Jay Warner sent in these beautiful photos of a red tail hawk spotted in his backyard in Racine on Oct. 31. Jay took both pictures.


7 comments:

  1. It looks small in relationship to the feeder. I thought red-tailed hawks were larger. Where in Racine was this photo taken? Nice photo.

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  2. It's always good to see photos in the Racine Post taken by community members who take time to contribute. And even better to observe the beauty and wonder of nature. Thank you.

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  3. Hawks come in sizes ranging from the size of a Robin to the size of eagles. The adult Red-tailed Hawk has a body length of 17 - 22 inches, a wingspan of 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 feet, and weighs 1 1/2 - 3 1/4 pounds. The one pictured here is is either a small young hawk, or it is sitting on a rather large feeder. Great shots Jay!

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  4. The hawk is clearly a red tail - you can see his reddish tail in one photo shown, and in some others that were less worthy.

    He is sitting on top of a martin nest - a group house (or group home?:) with 4-5 nest openings on each of 2 layers, on both sides of the house. It is 15 feet or so off the ground. So yes, the 'feeder' is rather large. He was a full size hawk, though less than the eagles I've seen.

    He sat on this perch as I mowed the lawn one last time. When I noticed him, I backed the lawn mower up to the house carefully, then left the motor running while I went in for the camera. He eyed me, but didn't move, for another 13 minutes.

    My house is on North Green Bay Road, and the River is about 150 yards away. Hawks like the open space before the trees above the river.

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  5. Great shots! Thanks for posting!

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