Next time you are walking on campus take a look up at the
top of the light posts around you and chances are you will see a large bird on
top of one of them. It seems every day when I park my car or head to the
parking lot after work I can find a Red Tailed Hawk perched above me. Sometimes
I am luckier and the hawk will be flying overhead showing off its massive
wingspan.
The bird you see is most likely a Red-Tailed Hawk. If you
haven’t seen a Red-Tailed Hawk on campus, you may have seen one perched high atop
a utility pole along the highway. Heck, I’ve even seen one at Mid Rivers Mall’s
parking lot! The Red-Tailed Hawk is one of the most common hawks in North
America. This hawk is a large bird of 2-4 pounds with a wingspan of 43 to
57 inches. There are many color variations but most red-tailed hawks have
a dark brown back, pale underparts and a brick colored tail. The Red-Tailed Hawks
I have seen on campus tend to have brown and white streaks on their underparts.
They almost look spotted from afar. This coloration makes it easy for them to
blend into the rocks and camouflage themselves while hunting for prey.
Something I find interesting is that not all Red-Tailed Hawks have a red tail
because the Red-Tailed Hawk is actually a grouping of 14 sub-species (some of
which do not have the red tail). Also, the female hawk is larger than the male.
These raptors have strong, hooked beaks and a loud voice that has been compared
to a steam whistle. The call of the Red-Tailed Hawk is frequently used in media
as a generic raptor sound effect even if the bird is not a Red-Tailed Hawk.
The Red-Tailed Hawk has keen eyesight. It can spot a mouse
from the height of 100 feet. The hawk’s eyesight is 8 times as powerful as
humans. They are efficient hunters which makes them a great bird for falconry
(the art of training falcons for hunting). However, falconers can only use the
hawks for falconry if the bird has left the nest and has yet to reach its
breeding age (around 2 years old). Otherwise the birds are protected by law.
Red-Tailed Hawks eat everything from small Beetles to Jackrabbits
twice their weight. Rodents comprise up to 85% of the Red-Tailed Hawk’s diet. They
also eat mice, ground squirrels and lizards. Sometimes the Red-Tailed Hawk has
to compete with Crows over carcasses. The Great Horned Owl is also a competitor
to the hawk because it hunts the same prey and uses the same foraging method.
The Red-Tailed Hawk also competes with the Owl for nest sites. The most
predation of these hawks occurs with eggs and nestlings being taken by owls and
raccoons.
Something I read about but have yet to witness is the mating
ritual of the monogamous Red-Tailed Hawk. It is an acrobatic display in which
the birds dive and roll in the sky before falling to the earth. They even grab
ahold of one another with their talons before breaking apart. They later nest
in trees and incubate their eggs for 30 days. (Both the male and female
incubate the eggs.) Young hawks are called “eyeasses” and after 42-46 days they
begin leaving the nest for short flights. This fledgling period lasts up to 10
weeks. It is during this time in which the birds learn to fly and hunt. I wish
I could see a baby hawk. Maybe the hawks around here will lay some eggs!
I chose to write about this bird today because of one
particular red-tailed hawk that frequents our campus. Just outside my window across the lake there
are rocks that soak up the sun and provide a nice warm perch for birds to sit.
Every day at some point I look outside and a Red-Tailed Hawk is staring in the
direction of the bookstore. He/she sits on the highest rock and perches
proudly. Almost as if he/she is guarding me. I’m sure it is just looking for
food or taking a break from hunting, but it is still reassuring to sometimes tell
myself that it is actually my guardian-hawk looking after me!
The Red-Tailed Hawk is just one more species of feathered
friends that SCC is home to and I am constantly grateful for its presence.
absolutely out of this world magnificent!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. I'd been trying to identify this bird and wasn't sure until I read the part about the coloring....thank you.
ReplyDelete