Mike and Merry Lynn Denny and I observed the Red-shouldered Hawk today in the
vicinity of the corner of Route 12 and Humorist Road in the northwestern
corner of Walla Walla County. It appears to be a first year bird. The bill
and head are small. The bird is light overall and very checkered underneath.
The shoulders show a small amount of reddish. The head is dark except for a
big white wide superciliary stripe above the eye and under the eye is light
too. The back of the head has a whitish splotch also. Its wing beats are not
very deep. We observed the bird hunting and flying inbetween several poles
and trees in the area. Evidently the bird was first seen a week ago but not
positively identified, so it has stuck to the same area. It offered very good
looks at it and wasn't too skittish.

Michael Willison
willmi at wwc.edu
College Place Wa