Red-shouldered hawk
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell

Adults of the California race of the red-shouldered hawk are strikingly beautiful birds, with rich orange-red underparts and bold black-and-white checkering in the wings and tail.   Happily, they appear to be doing well and are frequently seen (and heard; they have a loud, ringining kee-yeer call) in suburbs and parks, as well as in their more traditional riparian woodland habitats.   The pictures above were taken on the Monterey Peninsula (left and immediately below) and along the coast near the town of Cambria (right).   The photos below were made on the University of California campus at Riverside, on an overcast Spring day with a brisk wind blowing.   They show a sitting hawk from two angles, and (at the very bottom of the page) a bird gathering a fresh sycamore leaf to add to its nest. Click here for pictures of juveniles, and here for images of flying birds.   Photos of the distinctively colored Florida race are on another page. .

above left: digital capture, Canon 10D, 500 mm IS lens with 2X converter, fill-in flash (2003) above right: Canon EOS1v, 500 mm IS lens with 2X converter; Elite Chrome Extra Color (2003) below: digital captures, Canon 10D or 1D3, 500 mm IS lens with 2X converter (the wind-blown hawk was shot with a combination of 1.4X and 2X converters), fill-in flash (2004, 2007)