Yesterday must have been Red-shouldered Hawk day. I stepped out for my
morning Goddard pond patrol at 9 am yesterday and the first thing I was was
one sunning itself on a low branch. I vowed once again never to leave home
without my camera, as the bird allowed me close enough to fill a 7x
binocular field. He watched me watching him until my arms got tired.
Next was a group of over 100  Cedar Waxwings, many also posing nicely in the
sun, along with the usual zillion Robins.
I encountered another RSH, slightly higher than the first, but likewise
politely posing in the sun on the NW end of the pond. Chickadees,
Whitethroats, and Mockingbirds were also out in plain site wanting their
pictures taken.
When I returned about a half hour later, RSH #1 was still dozing. I went
into the building and brought a friend out to look. The bird oblogingly flew
to a closer tree so she could see it better. We had to go inside and do some
work so I don't know how long the bird lounged in that tree.

Spotted two more red-shoulders on the way home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred Pierce (DNRC)- 
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Richard Wood
> Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 10:33 AM
> To: 
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Red-shouldered Hawk
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>  Yesterday I took my wife to the yarn shop in Catonsville.  After
> I dropped her off, and I was headed back toward Mellor Ave., I
> saw a bird perched in a tree on a side street.    When I first
> saw it, I thought it was an owl, but as I neared it and stopped,
> I realized it was a hawk.  I drove up beside it and stopped.
>  I wondered which hawk it was.  I noticed that his wings were
> speckled with white on the edges, and there was no white on his
> back.  His chest was red and his tail was striped.  I thought,
> "Red-shouldered", so I went and got my wife from the yarn shop as
> I knew she hadn't seen a Red-shouldered this year.
>
>  We went back and watched the hawk for a couple of minutes until
> he flew off.  We both agreed that it was a Red-shouldered, as we
> even saw his red shoulder.  We also agreed that if he'd been a
> Red-tail, he would have been spooked before we had gotten this
> close to him.  We were no more than 10 feet away for where he was perched.
>
>  After this, I took my wife back to the yarn shop and I went to
> Record and Tape Traders, where I bought 4 Paul McCartney CD's.
>
>  Good birding,
>  Richard
>
>
> Richard L. Wood, Ph. D.
>  Computational Chemist
>  Cockeysville, MD 21030
>