Nancy thinks this is a Red Shouldered Hawk.
I'll go with that.
If I'm lucky, my attempts at identifying hawks usually come down to Red-tail or not Red-tail (at least there's no doubt about that in this case).
The little animation above is a few choice frames from the 2nd video below.
When I first spotted this bird I couldn't make out what the heck it was, even though I was quite close.
It was
very near the house and looked just like a piece of cardboard than had somehow got stuck a tree. Odd.
As I moved closer to investigate, something appeared to be moving above or behind this unidentified object, like a little bird perhaps.
Then I realised the
moving part was the head and the inanimate part was ... well, the penny dropped.
An "Aha" moment, you might say.
I've tried many times to photograph hawks but they usually get spooked and fly off before I get my chance.
I wish I'd been able to get this one in the tree where I first saw it. By the time I'd found my camera it had gone across the road.
I'm pleased enough though.
Click thumbnail to see larger picture. Click larger picture to cycle through the shots.
The video on the left looks like munching to me. In the right video, he/she takes off.
This is my first page where I've tried to embed flash video (other than pasting a you-tube link).
Let me know if it doesn't work for you.
Photos and animation by Gareth Ridout 11/28/2009.
Programs used:
Easy GIF Animator, Paint Dot Net,
and of course my favourite html/text editor Ultra Edit.
I used
Free Video To Flash Converter to convert avi files from my camera to the flash videos above.
Bird songs '09 Grosbeaks '09 Bluebirds '09 Woodpecker page
This page created 11/29/2009 by G.Ridout