Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) photos by Larry Jordan

Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) seem to be doing very well in northern California. I see them nearly every day in several different locations (click on photos for full sized images). As I have said many times, these hawks are my favorite Buteo.

This beauty was seen in McArthur when I was on the hunt for the Common Redpoll (see previous post). As I left the road where the Western Screech-Owl was located, this juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was seen atop a telephone pole looking for lunch. As it turned to take off of from the cross-member, I took this photo. You will notice its nictitating membrane is covering its eyes. This is an inner eyelid used to clean and moisten the cornea.

As the bird flew down from the pole, it pounced on something and was back up atop a pole on the other side of the road in an instant. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have gotten out my video camera to document the rodent lunch.

As it was, I didn’t even have time to adjust the settings on the camera for a faster exposure and got several blurry images of the hawk scarfing down what looked like a meadow vole. I chose the best one for this post.

It only took the hawk about 15 seconds to dispatch the vole, finishing it off in one big gulp. By pulling it from his talon and lunging down with his head, he engulfed the entire rodent and then took a big swallow.

The show was over. Time to clean up a bit. Check those talons for tidbits, scrape the beak and relax for a moment.

From the look of that pole, it is used fairly often, probably by this same bird.

I think this Red-shouldered Hawk is still hungry.

I did get a shot of him looking right at me but it wasn’t sharp. I love those photos of raptors looking directly at you. I call it the raptor’s stare. He took a second glance at me, then looked off, not considering me a threat after all this time.

Is it any wonder why this is my favorite Buteo? Just look at him or her, just finished lunch and ready to go!

For more great bird photos, you will definitely want to head over to World Bird Wednesday. If you haven’t already posted, come on and join the fun!

Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) photos by Larry Jordan

On our recent Fall River Christmas Bird Count on December 17th, we tallied 127 species in our count circle. Some finds were extraordinary, like the Long-tailed Duck, Common Redpoll, Red-naped Sapsucker and American Tree Sparrow.

Others like the Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) are seen every winter in the Fall River/McArthur area. However, according to this range map, courtesy of Terry Sohl of South Dakota Birds, I should look for Prairie Falcons there in the early spring when they begin nesting. Click on photos for full sized images.

The Prairie Falcon inhabits dry environments of western North America where cliffs or bluffs punctuate open plains and shrub-steppe deserts. An efficient and specialized predator of medium-sized desert mammals and birds, the Prairie Falcon ranges widely, searching large areas for patchily distributed prey¹.

Several species of ground squirrels are the mainstay of the Prairie Falcon’s diet; they provide fat-rich calories that the Prairie Falcon needs for raising its broods of 4–5 young during its 3 to 4 month nesting season. When ground squirrels move underground to escape summer heat and dryness, Prairie Falcons leave their nesting areas in search of other prey. Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks are important prey items in winter¹.

Having missed the opportunity to see the rare Common Redpoll (rare for our neck of the woods or savannahs that is) I headed back up to McArthur to try to see the Redpoll about a week after the CBC. I dipped on the Common Redpoll but got these photos of the Prairie Falcon for my efforts.

A second trip to the Fall River area a couple weeks later yielded the Common Redpoll, American Tree Sparrow and the Western Screech-Owl seen in the previous post. I was never able to catch up with the Red-naped Sapsucker but getting close-up views of the Prairie Falcon was enough to make this birder happy!

If you want to see some really incredible photos of the Prairie Falcon, check out my friend Mia McPherson’s post. Now those are some gorgeous shots! To see more great bird photos from around the world, check out World Bird Wednesday!

References: ¹Birds Of North America Online

Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Patriot and Liberty at Turtle Bay

Patriot and Liberty have been nesting successfully at Turtle Bay since 2006, fledging a dozen healthy eaglets from the same nest. They are a bit unusual, having twice fledged three healthy eaglets! Click on photos for full sized images.

This autumn they returned to Turtle Bay where they began building a new nest. For the past three years we were able to view their nesting activity on the Turtle Bay Eaglecam. Unfortunately, since they have begun building a new nest, only yards from the old one, the nest cam will not be available this season.

It is very interesting watching them build their new nest. Both partners are involved with constructing a nest which is among the largest of all birds. Patriot and Liberty’s previous nest was 5 1/2 feet wide and 5 feet deep during the 2010 nesting season¹.

The nests are made of rather large sticks, interwoven into a pattern to fit the tree in which it is built.

I shot this video of Patriot and Liberty as they built their new nest in a large Cottonwood tree very close to their previous nest.

Interesting things I saw in the video were: at the 1:50 mark, the two eagles have a ritualistic tug of war over a small sick in the nest; at the 2:20 mark Patriot takes off from a lower perch and flies erratically as he searches for a stick to break off and bring back to the nest; at the 3:37 mark, as Patriot is working diligently trying to place a stick, Liberty is seen (seemingly) playfully grabbing Patriots tail,  but he appears to be all business.

Many times they seem to look down from their perch before taking off, apparently looking for appropriate sized sticks for the nest.

This beautiful pair of Bald Eagles should begin laying their eggs in February if past history is any judge, with eaglets coming in March.

One more look at the much smaller male, Patriot, waiting in the nest.

To see more great bird photos from all over the world, you gotta go check out World Bird Wednesday!

References: ¹Turtle Bay Eagle Cam

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) photos by Larry Jordan

Caution! Some people might find raptors staring at them a bit unnerving!

Click on photos for full sized images.

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Bald Eagle Juvenile (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle Adult (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

And my favorite Buteo, the Red-shouldered Hawk.  I know this isn’t the best photograph but this bird was flying right at me as I was looking through the lens so I clicked away and got only this one interesting shot.  You can sure see his red shoulders though

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

To see some really incredible bird photographs, check out World Bird Wednesday!

Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) photos by Larry Jordan

This Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) was the first raptor we spotted my first morning in Sierra Valley.  What a way to start the morning with the best look I ever had at a Swainson’s Hawk!

I had spotted this hawk before on trips down Interstate 5 in the Sacramento Valley of California but those sightings were from a distance. This Swainson’s Hawk was sitting on a post on a narrow two lane road (county road 24) on our way out to the viewing platform on Maddalena Ranch.  Since there was no traffic that early on a Friday morning, I stopped and snapped off some photos from the car.

These beautiful birds are now reduced in numbers or distribution throughout their range and considered to be declining in Utah, Nevada, and Oregon.  They are listed as a Species of Special Concern in Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, and as Threatened in California.

Each autumn, nearly the entire breeding population of the Swainson’s Hawk migrates from the temperate zone of North America to wintering areas in South America. From Canada, this migration is more than 10,000 km each way, a distance second among raptors only to that of the Arctic Peregrine Falcon¹.

Like most buteos, the Swainson’s Hawk feeds its young rodents, rabbits and reptiles but not so during non-breeding season.

Swainson’s Hawk Drawing by John James Audubon

When it’s not breeding, the Swainson’s Hawk eats insects, primarily grasshoppers.   Their numbers have dropped since the 1980′s primarily due to loss of feeding grounds in their U.S. and Canadian breeding territory, and pesticide use in Argentina where they winter.

Swainson’s Hawks now commonly breed in agricultural areas where they can find suitable prey and large trees for nesting.  This is exactly where we found this bird nesting in the Sierra Valley.

This is most likely the female since the male rarely incubates the eggs.  Here is another shot of her in the nest.  She was pretty well hidden.

I was, needless to say, excited just to see a nesting Swainson’s Hawk and it was in the only large tree in the area, surrounded by acres of farmland.  I hope they have a successful nesting season.

If you love birds and want to see more great bird photos, check out Bird Photography Weekly.

References: ¹ Birds of North America Online