Red Shouldered Hawks Mating and Wood Duck- Feathered Friends

This pair of red shouldered hawks have setup a nest in my backyard greenbelt area. All these photos were taken from my deck. I've never seen hawks mate before and in the last week I've seen it on three occasions and have been lucky enough to capture it each time. I think the photos are dramatic and a beautiful representation of nature. I know it is natural for my friends to project human sexuality and humor onto images like these, but I just don't see it that way. These are incredible creatures and it is very rare to capture them during this part of the life cycle. For those of you who get that, enjoy!

The male brought the female a lizard or frog as a way to entice her into mating.

Here she see's him flying in...

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These red shouldered hawks have such beautiful and distinct colors and patterns in their wings and tail feathers.

This time the male stuck around for awhile after. They are completely pair bonded and the nest is only about 30 yards from here, so they are both around quite a bit.

She goes back to her meal and he hangs around protecting her. She has been sitting on the nest quite a bit lately, I do not know if they have any eggs yet because they keep mating.

Finally, here he is on guard while she eats.

Wood Duck
The wood duck or Carolina duck is a species of perching duck found in North America. It is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl