Rooftop Hawk

You never know whom you will meet, while walking around an ordinary suburban neighborhood. On a morning walk at the end of May, a large hawk caught my eye, sitting out in the open on the roof of a two-story house.

These distinctive markings and colorful plumage belong to a Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus.

Ordinarily, these hawks perch in trees, staying well-hidden in forests well beyond residential areas. Nevertheless, this predator seemed quite comfortable around civilization. He took a moment to adjust a feather…

Here you can see the reddish shoulder feathers that give this hawk its name…

He continued to pose for the camera, barely moving and apparently not bothered by my presence…

The front door of the house opened while I was busy snapping photos. A woman emerged and asked me what I was doing. She was apparently concerned that I was photographing her house. While I was explaining to her about the hawk on her roof, the spell was broken and the Red-Shouldered Hawk flew into the trees beyond.

For comparison, here is a close relative, the somewhat larger Red-tailed Hawk, sitting on top of a rural church just outside of Beaufort >>

Here are some other photographs of Rooftop Birds…

• Rooftop Eagle >>
• Steeple Sitters >>