Red-shouldered Hawk

I have to admit that I didn't recognize who this was at 1st. (I don't see a lot of Red-shouldered Hawks, and iNaturalist says they're critically imperiled in New Jersey.) The thin even stripes on the breast/belly reminded me of our accipiters, our Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk, but their heads would have more color and their tails wouldn't have white stripes. Instead it turned out to be the buteo that resembles an accipiter.

Though this is considered of our most vocal hawks (listen to its soothing music stylings here), this 1 wasn't talking. Perhaps because it had its mouth full; it was clearly tearing apart and eating some small animal. This was taken adjacent to a canal, so frogs, small turtles, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, muskrats, and any number of small birds could have been its victim.

Though some old-time birders considered Red-shouldered Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks to be arch enemies that wouldn't share a habitat, the Red-shouldered Hawk is quite a bit smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk, and it's unlikely Red-shouldered Hawks would win many of these encounters [1]. More likely, the smaller Red-shouldered Hawk does better in thicker woods where it can maneuver better than its larger cousin [2].

March 26, 2023 at the Raritan Water Power Canal
Photo 269672536, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)






March 26, 2023 at the Raritan Water Power Canal
Photo 269672576, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

 

[1] Interestingly, these are both hawks that Blue Jays are supposed to be good at imitating.

[2] Still, I suppose the prevalence of Red-tailed Hawks in NJ might be part of the reason that Red-shouldered Hawks aren't doing all that well here.

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