A morning hunt with a Red-tailed Hawk
A Red-tailed Hawk dropped to the ground, suddenly and quietly, from a low hanging oak tree branch 50 feet ahead of me. The object of its desire was a ground squirrel that managed to escape down a hole underneath a driveway.
I was taking my morning walk down to the rural mailbox site where I collect my mail. I always take my camera, just in case something of interest comes into view. This particular morning, I had the good fortune to spend an hour in close proximity to a hungry, and very determined Red-tailed Hawk. Had I been a minute earlier, I would have missed it all.
Red-tailed Hawk peering down a squirrel hole.
I sighted my camera and watched the hawk examine the squirrel’s escape route. It moved around a bit trying to obtain a better position from which to scrutinize the hole. The hawk was very focused on the hole, so much so that, seemingly, it was oblivious to my presence. I crossed over to his side of the road, then stepped even closer still.
Red-tailed Hawk looking into a squirrel hole.
After several minutes without rousting the squirrel, the Red-tail gave up and returned to its perch. I followed. The bird was only 25 feet off the ground, in mostly clear view, so I sat down. For the next half hour or so, I watched while the bird groomed itself. It paused every so often to cock its head from side to side, to look and listen for some movement of possible prey, as well as eyeball me. Since I wasn’t moving (except to hold the camera viewfinder up to my eye), the hawk didn’t seem to be particularly bothered by my company.
Red-tail Hawk grooming in morning sun.
But, then, as suddenly as it had dropped to the ground in pursuit of the squirrel, the hawk flew out of the tree and across the street where, again, it descended to the ground. I couldn’t see what was happening, so I scrambled up the bank on the other side of the road. The hawk had something in its talons; just what, I couldn’t discern. With a push of its legs and a flap of its powerful wings, it disappeared into the shelter of another oak tree.
I stealthily inched my way through a thicket to a place where I had a good view. The hawk was walking back and forth on a thick branch; a large Western Fence Lizard (aka blue-belly) hung from its beak. Holding the prey in its talons, the hawk toyed with the ill-fated reptile, then ripped its head off. Red-tail fiddled with the hapless lizard some more, hopped over to another branch, and swallowed the headless body whole.
I had a ringside seat to the whole event. Not bad for just a morning walk to the mailbox.
Red-tailed Hawk captures a Western Fence Lizard.
Unlike the Cooper’s Hawk whose hunting style is stealth and speed within the confines of the tree canopy, the larger, muscular-looking Red-tailed Hawk prefers hunting in the open, un-hidden. If you’ve ever taken a drive out of the city into the countryside, you may have seen this bird of prey standing watch on a power pole.
“Wow, there’s a hawk,“ you and thousands of other people might have exclaimed. It’s no wonder “highway hawk” is the nickname given the Red-tailed Hawk, the most common hawk in North America.
Red-tailed Hawks are year-round residents in the oak woodlands south of Yosemite National Park where I live. It’s a habitat where they seem to thrive: open country, high perches (bull pines, oak tree snags), and replete with a smorgasbord of small mammals to hunt: ground squirrels, rabbits, snakes, and, of course, lizards. Not a day goes by that I don’t see one or more Red-tails circling high above, or standing patiently on a telephone pole pole or open tree branch, looking for its next meal.
Hunting prowess aside, Red-tails exhibit fascinating springtime courtship behavior. The male may circle high on a thermal, then plunge straight down, only to arc steeply upwards, wings folded in, to an apogee, then descend again multiple times. “Look at me. I am great” this behavior seems to be exhibiting to available females. A male Red-tailed Hawk will also approach a female from above, its legs outstretched, and touch her. On occasion, the pair may even lock talons and plunge downward together. It’s truly quite a sight.
Red-tailed Hawk courtship display.
The next time you leave the city for the open road, keep your eye out for a highway hawk perched on a utility pole.
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