River Raptors, Part 2 of 3

A large pecan tree with a dead branch stands at the top of the river channel a short distance upstream on the opposite bank from where I had photographed the Red-shouldered Hawk. The dead branch has remained on this tree for at least the past two and a half years. This is significant because this branch provides an ideal location for raptors to perch and view the riverbank and surrounding terrain below.

I have acquired the habit of specifically looking for the branch when I walk by to see if a raptor has taken advantage of the high perch. The branch is visible for a fair distance. One disadvantage, photographically, is the closest the trail comes is at least 300 feet away.

When I first saw the branch on this walk, I thought a large plastic trash bag or some similar piece of trash had blown into it, got stuck and was hanging from a limb. It wasn't until I was nearing the closest approach I realized it was a very large bird. With the backlight, I couldn't tell what species it was, but as soon as I saw the photos on the computer monitor, I realized it was a very large Red-tailed Hawk:

This set of photographs was taken upstream from the confluence with San Pedro Creek along the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.