This was taken last summer in Rochester, NY. The second time I’ve witnessed a mockingbird attacking a hawk. The hawk put up with it for quite awhile! I was actually close enough to hear the strikes and it sounded painful!
Anything
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
1/1000
f/6.3
300mm
ISO 100
Rotated to crop vertically and took out some of the light post
Its amazing how little the smaller birds discriminate between hawks. The Osprey is completely harmless to them, yet they attack it as if it were going to destroy their nests. An interesting behavioral image, and nicely framed.
Vanessa, this is a great behavior shot, for sure. It looks like he is dive bombing the Osprey. Those crazy Mockingbirds will do such things. I watch about 5 or 6 one day attacking a Crow in flight. One paid the ultimate price though when he got too close to the beak of the Crow. He took him down, and even though the others tried their best to save their friend, they couldn’t. It seems to be a behavior though that other birds do as well. I have seen the Crow annoying a Hawk in flight. Not sure why they do it.
Great shot, and post processing looks good as well.
Very cool interaction. My only suggestions for improvement are to try and get the hawk’s head in the light and to look for birds on more natural perches.
What a great scene that you witnessed! And captured.
I love this fighter-bomber. Great shot.
Thank you all @Shirley_Freeman @Dennis_Plank @Lyle_Gruby @Han_Schutten for your feedback and looking and input! @Dennis_Plank and @Shirley_Freeman I see you both mentioned that this is an Osprey…I’m no expert but I thought they were bigger and had more white in certain places…I’m adding a few more pictures from this shoot because I think it’s some kind of Hawk, I thought Red-tail. Correct me though if I’m wrong. I think the photo I entered wasn’t the best angle for the Hawk/osprey, although I feel it’s the most dramatic one I have. Here’s some better angles and even wing details…
Vanessa, I’m pretty sure that is an Osprey. The markings on it head and face are the markings of an Osprey.
Thanks for the reply @Shirley_Freeman ! Wow! That’s so cool and amazing for me to see an Osprey sitting on a light post at a city park in the middle of Rochester, NY a town of over 300,000!
I’m not an expert, but that looks like a hawk to me!
My Bad. Looking at these images it looks like a Red-tailed Hawk with odd head plumage. The red in the tail where it’s preening and the belly band of darker plumage would tend to indicate that. Also, Osprey would tend to have longer legs, though the angle could fool us on that. Also take a look at Johan’s latest post, particularly the legs. Osprey legs are feathered all the way down.
Thanks @Lyle_Gruby and @Dennis_Plank, yeah in looking at all the photos I could see online of Osprey and comparing it to this I really didn’t think it was either. The main clue for me was the red in the tail feathers… But @Shirley_Freeman and others seemed so sure it was an Osprey that I think maybe the lighting and angle, even when I look at the eyes they look big Osprey. Could it be a juvenile redtail hawk or maybe a juvenile Osprey? Which could explain the lighter head, maybe?
I am certainly not an expert to ID birds, but I was sure, looking at the markings of his head especially that it was an Osprey, but @Dennis_Plank got me to thinking about the feathers on the legs. I just went back and viewed a photo I took of an Osprey a few years back, and sure enough, the feathers come down quite away, the legs don’t look yellow. I’m not sure what this is, but I am thinking now that it isn’t an Osprey. Sorry for the confusion.
No need to apologize @Shirley_Freeman! I looked up juvenile redtail hawk and I’m pretty sure that’s what it is… It makes sense with the location too… It also might make sense with how long he put up with the Mockingbird! Like it was a first time experience that he might have been thinking ‘this is going to end soon, I just have to wait it out!’ 
