Red-tailed hawk: a roadside regular

Shown here is a bird of prey common to most of North America. It is a red-tailed hawk. Many people call it a chicken hawk, and it will swoop down to catch and eat a baby chick or small chicken if given the opportunity.

If you plan to raise some chicks this spring, it will be wise to keep them inside a brooder house away from the red-tail hawk's prying eyes.

The red-tailed hawk is a regular along roadsides, sitting on the ground or perched on a high-line pole watching for mice along the manicured right-of-way. Adult females usually weigh about 3 1/2 pounds, and males are a bit smaller.

After hatching out in a nest high in a tree, the parents will bring food such as mice, small snakes or pieces of squirrel or rabbit to give their offspring.

Within a few months, the young hawks will leave the nest. They become mature adults at about 4 years of age.

I photographed this hawk Feb 7. A close look at the eye of the hawk reveals a yellow iris, indicating it is a juvenile probably between 2 and 3 years old. Irises in adults turn dark red. The brown feathers also darken in time and the red tail becomes more pronounced. This young hawk appears to be in excellent health.