Hawks Again

The pair of red-shouldered hawks have been about the park again the past week. Today I saw them at dawn, and again at noon when I was leaving for a dental appointment. In the morning on Thursday last week, when I went in late, I saw them, too, and got a couple of good shots of the female after they split up.

Here they are against the dawn sky:


And here at noon, having just flown in from opposite ends of the park - this shot shows both front and back plumages nicely. (I love their brocaded backs!):



I'm pretty sure this was the male - he joined his mate a couple of minutes later.






This is the female, I'm pretty sure - she's the larger of the two:



Here she is from the back, displaying that striking pattern:



And here she is preening, her head buried in her breast feathers (that brown spot below her head is her brooding patch, I think):