Earlier this week the sun was out and the birds were going crazy. Among the avian revelers in my yard was a Red-shouldered Hawk, one half of a pair that has been observed by us perched on the wires along the main road, head bent down, hunting in the field below.

On this particular day, one of the pair was making quite a to-do above the hill in back of the cabin. It finally perched in the top of a spindly pine long enough for me to photograph it as it peered this way and that. After a couple of minutes it flew up the hill, circled, and vanished. I briefly heard its mate.

I haven’t seen this bird hunting in the immediate vicinity of the cabin since January last year. It is a common species in the area. We saw one in a park near here in the same month. These were my best Red-shouldered hawk photos so far. A handsome bird.