Hi Mark,
I encountered a hawk at the Fill this Tuesday whose description and behavior completely matches what you recounted. I believe it looks perfect for an immature Red-tailed Hawk, as Red-tails less than a year old have a barred tail, as you described, and not a red tail. However, I did note that its eye color appears to already be changing, as it was not yellow like a young juvie, but was instead turning fairly dark, like that of an adult Red-tail.
The dark streaks on the belly (belly band), patagial bar (dark patch at the leading edge of the inner part of the underwing in flight) were consistent with a Red-tail, and there were no characters that suggested to me that it was another species of raptor.
Also, as you said, the bird perched up obviously everywhere, which was, to me, a sign of an inexperienced hunter still learning the ropes. I laughed out loud when the Red-tail did about 4 dives in succession on a Great Blue Heron, eliciting some hideous croaks from the Heron - that was another sign to me that this bird is a young dummy who hasn't learned how to be a good hunter yet!

-Evan






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