You can find Swainson’s hawks in the open grasslands and prairies of California throughout the summer. If you’re lucky enough to spot one while wheeling over a prey, you can easily identify it with the translucent crescents surrounding the wingtips. To identify these hawks, look for their dark-and-white checkered wings, reddish barred underparts, and strongly banded tail. Look around oak woodlands next to swamps and rivers to maximize your chances of seeing one. However, they also prefer the open habitats of California, especially those toward the west. Red-shouldered hawks are predominantly present throughout the eastern states. Look for their blue-grey upperparts, reddish-barred underparts, and black-and-white tails. It’s pretty easy to see Cooper’s hawks in California since they’re year-round residents. Both sexes care for young eyes until they become independent after about eight weeks. When it’s time for these birds to nest, males build a nest in tree limbs in heavily wooded areas, often on top of an old, no longer used nest, and females lay eggs that incubate for about 5 weeks. You can also spot them making meals of small mammals like chipmunks, squirrels, mice, and bats. These names describe their excellent ability to hunt other birds, such as robins, jays, flickers, and more. But among avid birdwatchers, these hawks are commonly known as big blue darters and hen hawks. Cooper’s HawkĬooper’s hawks were named after William Cooper, one of the most renowned ornithologists of the 19th century. This medium-sized raptor’s diet mostly consists of small mammals, but it will also feed on birds, reptiles, fish, and insects. As you head toward the east, however, you might spot hawks with darker upperparts and a streaked belly. In California, most red-tailed hawks have rich-brown upperparts and pale white underparts. However, the rest of the plumage might be quite variable between subspecies. You can often spot them perched on roadside trees, traffic lights, and poles, especially ones surrounded by open fields.Īs the name implies, the most characteristic feature of these hawks is their red tails. Red-tailed hawks are year-round residents throughout the United States and most parts of Canada. Read on to find out all about the range, habitat, visual identification, and general behavior of these birds of prey. Today, we’ll investigate all hawks in California. The most recent records say that you can spot up to 676 bird species there, which easily surpasses any other state. The oldest known wild Red-tailed Hawk was at least 30 years, 8 months old when it was found in Michigan in 2011, the same state where it had been banded in 1981.The glamorous Hollywood, the fascinating Disneyland, the marvelous Golden Gate Bridge - these are some of the things that pop into mind whenever anyone mentions California.īut lucky for us, California also houses prosperous nature and wildlife.Red-tailed Hawks have been seen hunting as a pair, guarding opposite sides of the same tree to catch tree squirrels.Sometimes, the pair grab onto one other, clasp talons, and plummet in spirals toward the ground before pulling away. After several of these swoops he approaches the female from above, extends his legs, and touches her briefly. The male dives steeply, then shoots up again at an angle nearly as steep. Courting Red-tailed Hawks put on a display in which they soar in wide circles at a great height.It’s so distinctive that it was once considered a separate species, until ornithologists discovered many individuals that were intermediate between Harlan's and more typical Red-tailed Hawks. This very dark form of the Red-tailed Hawk has a marbled white, brown, and gray tail instead of a red one.
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