The Story
I photographed Ruby, a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), at the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, Florida, United States, in October 2020; the center gave her that name. The center rehabilitates and educates people about birds like her, and it welcomes visitors on Saturdays. A Red-tailed pair builds a stick nest high in a tree and lays one to three eggs. In the east, the Eastern Red-tailed Hawk group breeds from southeastern Canada and Maine south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. The center was founded by Carol, a certified veterinary technician who got her first rehabilitation permit in 1986, and Scott, a master falconer who now leads its flight demonstrations.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) belongs to the family Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List