\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/redtailedhawk170217as.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Red-tailed Hawks are rather like governmental spy agencies: They like to watch, but they do not appreciate it when\u00a0they are, themselves, monitored.<\/p>\n
The hawks frequently watch from utility poles or trees alongside a roadway, apparently waiting for road-kill. They remain unconcerned if the\u00a0traffic speeds by below, but if they notice that someone is watching them, even from afar with a scope, they often retreat.<\/p>\n
While I am sympathetic to these hawks and do avoid stressing them, it is ironic that they want us to ignore them while simultaneously perching on man-made structures so as to watch our roads. By way of contrast, an eagle or owl would just ignore a passing human.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A minor perquisite of this hawk\u00a0skittishness is that as a hawk leaves, flight shots are possible. Below are three different flying hawks taken over a period of a three weeks.<\/p>\n
A Red-tailed Hawk flew off as I watched from the roadside. The reddish tail is obvious.
\n <\/p>\n
Another Red-tailed Hawk lifted off from a distant utility pole and then proceeded to hunt from aloft. This was the first time I had seen a hawk deploy its alulae while trying to hover over prey.
\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/redtailedhawk170303s.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This Red-tailed Hawk flew from a roadside lamp\u00a0standard. That its\u00a0tail has yet to turn red reveals it to be\u00a0a juvenile.\u00a0
\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/redtailedhawk170306bs2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Red-tailed Hawks are rather like governmental spy agencies: They like to watch, but they do not appreciate it when\u00a0they are, themselves, monitored. The hawks frequently watch from utility poles or trees alongside a roadway, apparently waiting for road-kill. They … Continue reading