For years, I've seen this red-tailed hawk at my favorite forest preserve.  While I know they have a large territory, I see him within this square half-mile area on almost every visit.  He seldom allows me to get close, but he is a presence I can always count on, even when I don't see him.

Today, a hawk of another kind joined him on a nearby branch of the tree on which he was perched.

Promptly, the red-tailed hawk flew away, showing off his red tail's plumage.

However, the red-tailed hawk flew in a big circle and returned to the tree.

The darker hawk on the left and the red-tailed hawk on the right didn't seem to be enjoying one another's company.

As I shot the photos, I did not recognize the hawk species that the darker hawk belonged to.  He had no red tail, and his body was quite dark, with a very interesting pattern on the underside of his wings.  After some digging, I have come to the conclusion that he was a rough-legged hawk, due to the dark markings on his wrists, which you will see later.

Aaaaaaaaaand then the red-tailed hawk flew away again.

The rough-legged hawk was a little friendlier, and I swear he posed for me.

I took off for a bit, chasing a deer and then a cardinal, but when I came back to the hawk area, the red-tailed hawk and the rough-legged hawk were having some kind of scuffle in the air.  It was awesome, but I couldn't tell the two apart thanks to all the flying and flapping of wings.

I don't think they made contact, but the posturing was evident.

I believe that's the red-tailed hawk flying around and the rough-legged hawk stubbornly clinging to the tree.

Um, yeah, I still can't tell them apart, but the good news is that they decided to split up.  The red-tailed hawk took a tree a bit farther out, but still within the normal territory he resides over.

The rough-legged hawk then flew right to me.  What a gorgeous creature!  And those dark spots on his wrists looked like big eyes coming at me.  I thought about how frightening it would be to be on his menu.

A perfect example of why birds of prey are so magnificent.

I look forward to running into this rough-legged hawk in the woods again sometime.