This Red-shouldered Hawk to the right and left, was sitting on a low-lying branch waiting for supper to meander by. at the Sarah M. Mason Preserve in Lake County, Florida.

Although Red-tailed hawks are a migrating bird, the ones found here in Florida tend to stay the year around because of the warm climate. The tails are brown until they are about two years old and then they slowly turn red. An interesting fact abut the Red-tails are that although they mate for life, they don’t share the same tree. They build the nest together and the female stays in that tree during nesting season. The male will stay in a nearby tree protecting the territory. He visits frequently bringing her food. Photographed in Citrus County, Florida.

This is a large hawk with rust colored underparts, reddish shoulders, and a narrowly banded tail. He is found mostly in the lowlands with especially swampy woods. The two hawks to the right and left were photographed in Citrus County, Florida.

Unlike the Red-tailed Hawks who prefer woodlands, the Red-shouldered Hawks are to be found in wet areas near streams, lakes and swamps.

During courtship, a pair will roll over on their backs during flight and fly upside down for a short distance.

Graceful and buoyant, this flier spends hours in the air. It is gregarious, often seen in flocks and even nesting in loose colonies. Although chiefly insectivorous, feeding largely on grasshoppers and dragonfiles, it occasionally takes small snakes and frogs.

The lovely hawk to the left, was sitting on a low branch on the banks of Lake Harris in Lake County, Florida.