Red Shouldered Hawk At Brazos Bend State Park

As I was walking on one of the trails I heard the unmistakable cry of a Hawk.  I always get confused between a Red Shouldered Hawk and a Red Tailed Hawk.

Here’s what I found from reading my Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America.  The Red Shouldered Hawk has orange bars across its chest whereas the Red Tailed Hawk has more of a streaked chest and belly.  Sure the Red Tailed Hawk has a red tail, but sometimes it’s hard to see the tail of these hawks.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Here’s the same bird right before it flew off.

Red Shouldered Hawk Getting Ready To Fly