Hawks are not my strong suit when it comes to naming them. I photographed this one at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on July 15, 2021, and I was not sure what I had. A birder friend looked at the photo and told me it is a young Red-tailed Hawk. The marks back that up, and this photo shows most of them.
Caught Mid-Stretch on a Dead Limb
The hawk sat on a thick dead branch with both wings stretched out and drooped. Birds hold this pose to stretch their wings, and hawks also use it to sun themselves. Either way, it gave me a clean look at the underside of both wings.
The pose shows the pale underside of the wings, with dark tips on the flight feathers. It also shows the heavy dark streaking down the breast and belly. The bird’s yellow feet grip the branch, and the branch carries patches of lichen.
The Marks of a Young Red-tailed Hawk
Start with the eye. This bird’s eye is pale and grayish. It will darken as the bird ages and end up dark brown in the adult.
Next, look at the tail. A young Red-tailed wears a brown tail crossed with thin dark bands. The brick-red tail the species takes its name from comes later, with adult plumage.
Young birds also run paler overall than adults. This one has a pale head, a darker barred back, and that heavily streaked front. Put the marks together, and they say a bird in its first year.
What Lies Ahead for This Hawk
If this bird makes it through its first year, it will trade up. The banded tail gives way to a red one, and the pale eye turns dark. It will hunt the way Red-taileds do. It will watch from a perch or circle over open ground, then drop on rabbits, mice, squirrels, and other prey.
For a look at a grown bird at work, see my post Red-tailed Hawk Feeding on a Carcass in Oklahoma. This young one had a plainer job. It sat on its branch and stretched, and I got the photo I wanted.