Scream of the Okefenokee Hawk

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 30037682 - Red-shouldered Hawk with a fish perched along The Sill Recreation Area; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 13, 2015. ©williamwisephoto.com

Noises carry in strange ways in the Okefenokee Swamp. A silent solitude lies upon the blackwaters as one paddles through the refuge. But the dead stillness is suddenly broken by the scream of a Red-shouldered Hawk. Its call seems to emanate from over your shoulder, but the echo carries ahead, to the left, and to the right. It may take a few squawks from the raptor to pinpoint its location.

For many decades, the Red-shouldered Hawk has been one of the most common raptors in the Okefenokee Swamp. In 1913, Albert Wright and Francis Harper published “A Biological Reconnaissance of Okefinokee Swamp: The Birds” in The Auk, the scientific journal of the American Ornithological Society. Of the Red-shouldered Hawk, they wrote,

“Buteo lineatus alleni. FLORIDA RED-SHOULDERED HAWK: ‘Hen Hawk’; ‘Chicken Hawk.’- Very common. This is one of the most widely distributed birds, as its scream is one of the most characteristic sounds, of the Okefinokee.”

The call of the Red-shouldered Hawk is still piercing the stillness of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge today.

Publicado el 18 de agosto de 2024 por williamwisephoto