
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 13, 2023
I noticed this well camouflaged Red-shouldered Hawk perched in a tangle of crepe myrtle branches. Then I realized it was the flitting of the Mocking Bird that had caught my eye.
The Mocking Bird passed in front of the hawk undisturbed and went on his way.
It was late afternoon and I thought maybe the hawk wasn’t in feeding mode, but then he dropped to the ground. He immediately mantled over some prey, covering it from other potential predators.
That prey either escaped or was very tiny, consumed in one bite.
The hawk flew to another crepe myrtle and continued to watch the ground.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
November 3, 2022
Red-shouldered Hawk ID confirmed with Merlin Bird ID app.
The Red-shouldered Hawk that was sharing a snag with the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks blended right into the branch when he turned away from me.
The hawk opted to move on.
He didn’t go far, maybe just needed his own space.
These snags stand in one of the wetland cells created as part of the city’s water reclamation process.
Orlando Wetlands, Florida
April 12, 2022
A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks made their nest in a tree that hangs over the exit road at Magnolia Plantation.
With hundreds of treed acres available to them this seems like an odd choice with cars and pedestrians passing all day long.
That’s a frog leg sticking up by the hawk’s feet, soon to be breakfast for the chicks.
The chicks were ready for their next meal.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 29, 2022
I spotted this hawk while I was walking around the barnyard at Middleton Place. He was looking down at me, not much concerned by my presence.
I think this is a Red-shouldered Hawk, probably immature. I moved along and a few minutes later I was alerted that he did, too, as the pigeons that perch on the barn roof took to the air in a frenzy.
October 19, 2021
This Red-shouldered Hawk was enjoying the early morning sun high over a swamp.
Surprisingly he did not take flight as I got closer.
And closer.
I had a pretty good angle, and would have enjoyed a “take off” shot.
But he wasn’t moved, even as I walked under him.
I continued on my way, and yes he stayed right there.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
October 18, 2021
Ted and I took a stupendous boat tour at Okefenokee Swamp a few days ago.
This Red-shouldered Hawk was the first bird of the day, shortly after sun rise.
He looks a little tattered, but he had no trouble with his flight skills.
The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre, peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness.