Red-tailed Hawk Takes Wing

Late in the afternoon two red-tailed hawks were free-wheeling high over the east side of the Prescott Mill wetland.  As I was leaving I spotted one of them in a large tree south of Wolf's Crossing Road just west of U.S. 30.

Red-tailed hawks are very common and live year round in northern Illinois.  The underside of a red-tailed hawk is pale/white, but this photo was taken during golden hour 30 minutes before sunset lending the underside a golden hue.