GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ –Earlier today, a Red-tailed Hawk visited us; it landed on our backyard deck. I was able to watch it from inside my house for a few minutes before it flew away.

Some time ago, I was walking Peyton, and as we approached our home, a dove flew low above my head and into our garage. Seconds later, a Red-tailed Hawk appeared and landed on top of my parked van outside the garage.

Peyton and I stood across the street from my house for 15 minutes, watching this deadly scenario unfold. Would the dove be so foolish as to leave the sanctuary of my garage? Or would the hawk fly into the garage to flush its quarry out into the open?

As time passed, my patience wore thin. I let Peyton off her lead, and as soon as she ran up the driveway, the hawk flew away. I peeked inside the garage and found the dove perched on a rafter. When I checked on it an hour later, it was gone.

According to the All About Birds website, most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the underside of the wing, a dark bar between the shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it is brown and banded. “Dark-morph” birds are entirely chocolate-brown with a warm red tail. “Rufous-morph” birds are reddish-brown on the chest with a dark belly.

The website states that a person is unlikely to see this bird in their backyard unless the yard is quite large. Red-tailed Hawks eat mostly mammals, so they are less likely to visit a popular feeder than a Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk. It is very rare for a Red-tailed Hawk to go after dogs or cats.

The Red-tailed Hawk has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. At least, that is what Hollywood directors seem to think. Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, regardless of the species, the shrill cry heard on the soundtrack is almost always that of a Red-tailed Hawk.