Chirps and Cheeps

I've run into a few raptors over the last week and decided to give their photos their own post.  Pictured below are a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, an Osprey, an American Kestrel and one of three Broad-winged Hawks that were flying over our house today.

A couple of notes on the Red-taileds:  the first photo shows a most likely older Red-tailed.  It was so light, I turned my car around to see him/her better. I thought maybe it was the Krider's subspecies, but on further study, I think it's just a lighter Eastern.  When I showed the photo to Willie D'Anna, he suggested it might be an older bird, as they sometimes will fade when they start getting up in years.

The other Red-tailed is a young bird, probably around a year old. Check out the tail feathers and you'll see some barred feathers of an immature as well as the red feathers of an adult.  The short red feather is just coming in, so we can see s/he's currently molting.