Appreciating the Red-tailed Hawk

We see Red-tailed Hawks almost daily because they prefer deserts and agricultural areas, in both of which we live.  They are easy to confuse with Common Ravens when they are silhouettes soaring above, but if you can get a good look at the shape of the wings, you can tell the difference.  This website has good pictures of both that will show you the difference.

I get a kick out of these raptors because they are actually very goofy.  Not only do they look goofy when they sit on street lights like pigeons, they like to yell at people in whose yards they are trying to hunt.  My parents had a juvenile that sat in their trees screaming at anyone who came outside, usually in the morning.  As it got older, it would squawk at us while waiting for bunnies and mice to put down their guard.  We were even lucky enough to see it dive for a mouse 20 feet from us, catch the mouse and then, lucky for the mouse, drop the uninjured mouse from its talons.

The monogamous Red-tailed Hawk may breed for life.  The last link below talks a lot about their courting and breeding.  Mating season is in the spring, so I'll try to keep my eyes open in a few months and see if I can catch any images of their dance.

Fun trivia: When you hear a raptor's cry on television, regardless of which bird is depicted, the call is usually that of a Red-tailed Hawk.

The first picture you saw in my post about the Baylands.  The second was also taken at the Baylands and represents well how I usually see these birds: sitting and waiting.  The others I took at Veterans Oasis Park, about which I will post another day.  One flew not ten feet above my head, but my silly camera wouldn't focus, so I missed the shot.  Still, we could see every feather.  It was really cool.  Below the pictures I've included some links if you'd like to learn more about this wonderful bird and see some great photos.

Update: These last three pictures have been called into question because they look like a Turkey Vulture.  While I admit they do, I also admit to a great deal of confusion.  At first glance in person, these birds looked different than Red-tailed Hawks, but I honestly couldn't see them well because of the sun.  The sun was above them, and every bird that flew over me, including the White-winged Dove, looked like a black silhouette.  The reason I concluded this particular bird was a Red-tailed Hawk was because he did a fly by.  He is the one who flew right over my head and was most definitely a Red-tailed Hawk.  Now, I have done some research into Turkey Vultures, and these pictures do appear to be of a Turkey Vulture.  So I will say this: if this is a Turkey Vulture, he and the hawk are masters of illusion.  My eyes never left this bird as he circled and eventually flew over my head.  So take it however you want.  It may be a tricky Turkey Vulture; it may be a poorly-lit Red-tailed Hawk.  This birding business is all about learning more about God's winged creations, anyway, right?

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/red-tailed-hawk/
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/lifehistory
http://www.peregrinefund.org/subsites/explore-raptors-2001/hawks/redtail.html
http://www.desertusa.com/aug96/du_hawk.html
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-red_tailed_hawk.html
http://www.hawkmountain.org/raptorpedia/hawks-at-hawk-mountain/hawk-species-at-hawk-mountain/red-tailed-hawk/page.aspx?id=460

Backyard Birding

I recently signed up to "Celebrate Urban Birds" through The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in an effort to learn and teach my children more about our winged neighbors.  We enjoy backyard birding because the birds become so familiar.  We have yet to make our yard appealing to a variety of birds, but we are not wanting for variety if we venture out our front door.  We have, in fact, a resident Greater Roadrunner who occasionally runs alongside us on walks and often perches like a pigeon on less-than-dignified objects.  One day I found him on a storm drain.

Bounding through the Baylands

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to spend a couple days with my very best friend who I haven't seen in two and a half years.  Since she and I (and our husbands and children) are tremendous geeks, and proudly so, we knew a trip to the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, California, would be perfect for our families.  Although we didn't get to see the Golden Eagles and Burrowing Owls we'd hoped we would, we still got a nice show.  I don't have much to say other than we'd be there every week if we lived there.  I will share some of my pictures.  The trip completely rekindled my love of birding that I'd abandoned in high school.  If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and give yourself a couple of hours, at least, to explore.

Red-Tailed Hawk
Needs no words

Gorgeous White Pelicans preening and stretching

and fishing

Before we made the drive to Palo Alto, we spent a few days in the San Diego area.  Even though my obsession with birding had not yet been rekindled, my love of photographing nature was alive and kicking (wow, that's a lot of metaphors), and I got a couple of shots of birds I don't see every day, if ever.

These first two are a Brandt's Cormorant that was diving and resurfacing so much and so fast that I had a hard time getting a good closeup, but it did stop to rest on a buoy.

If you've never seen a pelican up close, you don't realize how big they really are.  The Brown Pelican has a wingspan of over six feet.  This one made the loudest splashes every time it landed!

At first glance, thanks to the light, this Rough-legged Hawk appeared to be a Golden Eagle.  Another birder, who drew my attention to it in the first place, thought so, too.  Even though I was slightly disappointed to find out it wasn't when I blew up the picture, I was still excited to find out I saw a bird I've never seen before.

P.S. I gave picture captions a good test today (I normally just type them manually under the picture), so let me know what you think of the format.