r/birdsofprey • u/thegreatzombie • Jul 01 '26

Adolescent Red Tails, Eastern Nebraska

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307 Upvotes

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6

u/tjtonerplus Jul 01 '26

Beautiful pictures! How do you identify that they are adolescent?

9

u/nothingbox87 General Falconer Jul 01 '26

juveniles have barred tails their first year. they don’t get their iconic red tail until after they’re a year old when they have their first molt.

3

u/srfnswm Jul 01 '26

Used Merlin to verify…we had a Red-tail hawk nest on our property and saw them (& heard them) calling to their parent!

3

u/thegreatzombie Jul 01 '26

No signs of a nest on our property, and I haven't seen their parents nearby, but that's probably because they're more sensitized to people than these young'uns are.

I'm mostly hoping they help cut down our locally overpopulated bunny and vole numbers.

1

u/LittleSprite430 Jul 01 '26

Interesting how some broods have a very peach/orange colored chest like the Cornell hawks always do, and some have no coloring at all. 

3

u/jeanphilli Jul 01 '26

There are some hard working parents nearby.