Chances are if you see a hawk in Central Florida, it’s like a Red-shouldered Hawk. That’s been the case for me since I started photographing them in January 2023.
Red-shouldered Hawks are year-round residents, and you might be as likely to spot one in your own neighborhood as at the Orlando Wetlands. They can live up to 25 years and will return to the same nesting areas year after year, so you could end up seeing some familiar faces.
And while they are found in most of the eastern part of the U.S., there is a difference among some of the ones who live in Florida. “The form in very southern Florida is the palest, having a gray head and very faint barring on the chest,” says AllAboutBirds.org.
Here are some of my favorite photos that I have taken of Red-shouldered Hawks.
Red-shouldered Hawk, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, February 2024.This Red-shouldered Hawk at the Orlando Wetlands in October 2023 seems to be in the fall spirit by blending in well with changing leaves.Red-shouldered Hawk, Orlando Wetlands, October 2023.A Red-shouldered Hawk acts as a tour guide on a sign post at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks keep watch over the Orlando Wetlands in September 2023.A Red-shouldered Hawk looks a bit disheveled at Orlando Wetlands in August 2023.A Red-shouldered Hawk keeps an eye on the parking area at Orlando Wetlands park in April 2023.A Red-shouldered Hawk seems unfazed by a Northern Mockingbird trying to chase it away from this pine tree at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.Red-shouldered Hawk, Orlando Wetlands, October 2023.Red-shouldered Hawk, Orlando Wetlands, April 2023.A Red-shouldered Hawk at Orlando Wetlands Park does not like being interrupted and cries out a warning in late April 2023.
