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I’m normally not a big fan of images of birds perching on utility wires. Wires are ugly, it’s as simple as that. That said, I’m making an exception for today’s image.
This handsome bird is a very young Red-tailed Hawk, likely no more than eight or ten weeks old. It has the bright plumage of a fledgling bird and a fledgling’s pale eye. It also reveals its extreme youth with its naivete. No self-respecting adult or even a relatively experienced young hawk would sit so passively while I parked five meters away and photographed it.
This youngster has many of the physical attributes of an adult Red-tailed Hawk. It is capable of flight although its flying skills are not close to those of an adult bird. It has an adult’s powerful beak and razor-sharp talons, very visible in this image. But it lacks the skills necessary to survive on its own. This fledgling — although no longer in the nest — remains dependent on its parents for food and protection. Adult Red-tailed Hawks continue to care for their offspring for weeks after they’ve fledged. It will be mid-summer or even later when the young bird is finally on its own.
Red-tailed Hawks — other raptors as well — have a very high attrition rate during their first year of life. About 2/3 of all fledglings don’t survive the first year, because they fail to learn how to hunt, or because they are killed in accidents such as collisions with motor vehicles, or because they become prey to other species such as Great Horned Owls. Here’s hoping that this youngster makes it.
Image made with a Canon R5, Canon EF 400mm f4 DO II lens+Canon EF 1.4x telextender, M setting (auto ISO), ISO 4000, f5.6 @ 1/3200.
Sonoran Images 