Red-tailed Hawk hunting, Jamaica Plain MA 1/17/04
I was alerted to a Red-tailed Hawk in my neighbor's yard by the agitated cawing of the local crow family. It was one of those bitter cold blue-sky days during the winter of '03-'04. I found the hawk perched in the middle of a crabapple tree and crouched down in the snow to try and get a couple of photos. Judging by its large size the hawk was a female. She was carefully examining the ground below her, hunting from a perch as redtails often do. I snapped a few shots from 60 ft or so. She continued to hunt, shifting her position and moving her head from side to side, perhaps to listen or to get a better look at whatever she was stalking.
I was surprised when she flew out of the tree straight towards me and landed on a utility wire over my head. It's not easy for a large bird to balance on a wire and she leaned forward and back flipping her tail up and down and half flapping her wings. I moved back, got a few more shots and then I understood what was going on. She was still watching the ground under the crab apple tree. Dropping straight through the dense crabapple wasn't going to work, she moved out of the tree to gain a clear approach path and a low angle of attack.
When I moved back to get a better shooting angle, the crabapple tree was no longer visible behind the corner of my neighbor's house. She dropped off the wire and went low towards the tree. A few seconds later the redtail emerged flying from behind the house. She was headed in the opposite direction with a mouse in her talons. More photos...
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