Monday, July 9, 2012
A light Shoulder
This red shouldered hawk was struck by a car a couple of days ago and was having difficulty breathing when it arrived. She's feeling much better today, but still not feeling well enough to eat on her own. This red-shouldered is unusual because her coloring is much lighter than our local red-shouldered hawks. These light colored hawks are usually found in Florida, but the rehab center has two this summer. If they came up there to avoid the heat, I'm afraid they are out of luck! Though this hawk is missing the red chest we usually see on mature red-shouldered, you can tell it's an adult.
Can you tell how we know?
Well its the eyes..
Her dark brown eyes tell us she is a mature adult bird. Immature red-shouldered have a yellow iris that begins to turn brown in their second year.