The Prairie and Peregrine Falcons

From the Birds of Prey series, I thought today I'd feature yet another exciting set of birds that inhabit the state of Arizona.  Listed as Least Concern on the Conservation Status of birds, these Falcons can be seen flying around the Tucson area.

Over the holiday season, my brother Adam and I had a chat about Falcons in Wisconsin.  He works at a Nuclear Power Plant on protected land.  He says that during several security checks, they've found bird carcasses on the ground.  They know it's a falcon because they eat everything except the head of their prey.  While that's pretty disgusting, it's also pretty cool info. 

Calls, heard mostly near the nest, are described as repetitive kree kree kree…, kik kik kik…, and the like, similar to the Peregrine's but higher-pitched. Experts can separate a distant Prairie Falcon from a Peregrine (generally the only similar species in its range) by its shape and flight style. The Prairie Falcon has a longer tail in proportion to its size; a more tubular, less stocky body; and the wing joint farther from the body. Its wingbeats are described as strong and shallow like the Peregrine's and having the same quick cadence, but stiffer and more mechanical.

If you'd like to see these birds, you need to be at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum by 10 AM because that's when they fly.  The Raptor Free Flights run until April 15th.  For information, check out the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum website.  More tomorrow.... 

Ferruginous Hawk

I think one of my favorite hawks is the Ferruginous Hawk.  The way the hawk flies, glides, and moves in general is rather interesting.  In some ways, this hawk reminds me more of an Eagle.  Some people will mistake this hawk for the Golden Eagle.

Here in Arizona, this bird is losing range due to mining and other disturbances within the land.  It is a particular hawk and unlike other hawks, if the lands are disturbed, it will not return back to the same spot.  It will completely leave altogether.  While the country has the Ferruginous Hawk listed as "Least Concern", here in Arizona, it is threatened.

The preferred habitat for Ferruginous Hawks are the arid and semiarid grassland regions of North America. The countryside is open, level, or rolling prairies; foothills or middle elevation plateaus largely devoid of trees; and cultivated shelterbelts or riparian corridors. Rock outcrops, shallow canyons, and gullies may characterize some habitats. These hawks avoid high elevations, forest interiors, narrow canyons, and cliff areas.

The flight of the Ferruginous Hawk is active, with slow wing beats much like that of a small eagle. Soaring with the wings held in a strong dihedral has been noted, as well as gliding with the wings held flat, or in a modified dihedral. Hovering and low cruising over the ground are also used as hunting techniques. The wing beat has been described as "fluid" by some observers. See the pics below....

The Ferruginous Hawk primarily hunts small to medium-sized mammals but will also take birds, reptiles, and some insects. Mammals generally comprise 80 to 90 percent of the prey items or biomass in the diet with birds being the next most common mass component. The diet varies somewhat geographically, depending upon the distribution of prey species, but where the range of the Ferruginous Hawk overlaps, the black-tailed jackrabbit is a major food species along with ground squirrels and pocket gophers. Depending upon the relative abundance of jackrabbits and ground squirrels, the latter could become the major food source. The white-tailed jackrabbit are occasionally prey and weigh about twice as much as a Ferruginous Hawk.

These birds search for prey while flying over open country or from a perch. They may also wait in ambush outside the prey's burrow. Hunting may occur at any time of the day depending upon the activity patterns of the major prey species. A bimodal pattern of early morning and late afternoon hunting may be common. The hunting tactics can be grouped into seven basic strategies.

Perch and Wait – perching is on any elevated natural or man-made site


Ground Perching – the hawk will stand on the ground at a rodent burrow after initially locating it from the air. As the burrowing animal reaches the surface, the hawk rises into the air and pounces upon it even while it is still underneath the loose earth.

Low-level Flight – birds will course over the landscape within a few yards of the ground and pursue in direct, low level chases, or they will hunt from 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m) above the ground.

High-level Flight – birds will hunt while soaring, but the success rate is generally low.

Hovering – using quickened wing beats, often in times of increased winds, the birds will search the ground and drop on the prey.

Cooperative Hunting – mates have been known to assist each other.

Piracy – the Ferruginous Hawk has been observed gathering around a hunter shooting prairie dogs, and to claim shot "dogs" by flying to them and mantling over them.

In its "strike, kill, and consume" type of predation, the prey is seized with the feet and a series of blows may be meted out, including driving the rear talon into the body to puncture vital organs. Biting with the beak may also take place. Before bringing prey to the nest, the adults will often eat the head. At the nest, birds are plucked and mammals torn into pieces before being fed to the young. Food caching has been noted, but not generally near the nest.

At times the Ferruginous Hawk has been considered threatened, endangered, or of concern on various threatened species lists but recent population increases in local areas, coupled with conservation initiatives, have created some optimism about the bird's future. It was formerly classified as a Near Threatened species by the IUCN, but new research has confirmed that the Ferrugineous Hawk is common and widespread again. Consequently, it was downlisted to Least Concern status in 2008.

Declines are mostly due to loss of quality habitat. Although flexible in choosing a nest site and exhibiting a high reproductive potential, this bird's restriction to natural grasslands on the breeding grounds and specialized predation on mammals persecuted on rangelands may make conservation a continuous concern. Historically, the birds entirely disappeared from areas where agriculture displaced the natural flora and fauna; for example it was noted in 1916 that the species was "practically extinct" in San Mateo County, California. Studies have found that prairie dogs can be a main prey item for Ferruginous Hawks, linking them to the populations of prairie dog towns in the mid-west and southwestern United States, which have been declining in recent years. This bird may also be sensitive to the use of pesticides on farms; they are also frequently shot. Threats to the overall population include:


cultivation of native prairie grassland and subsequent habitat loss

tree invasion of northern grassland habitats

reductions in food supply due to agricultural pest management programs

shooting and human interference

Toxic chemicals have not been suggested as a significant threat to the Ferruginous Hawk. Management strategies must include the retention or reclamation of native grasslands for breeding as well as on the wintering grounds. Maintenance of high populations of prey species in wintering areas seems critical to the hawks' abilities to move onto the summer range in breeding condition. The integration of agricultural practices and policies into the management strategies is a crucial component of any overall scheme for conservation. The provision of nesting platforms has had positive effects and should be a part of local strategies. Public education and the elimination of persecution and human disturbance must be an important part of the overall conservation program. Source

More tomorrow.....

Gray Hawks

Over the next several weeks, I'll be presenting an exciting Birds Of Prey series from Southern Arizona.  I think I have some really exciting shots to present to you all.  One in particular is my ABSOLUTE favorite, but I won't spoil the fun.  Just get ready for it in a couple days.  The purpose of this series is to give you a little background on some of the Hawks, Owls, Falcons, and Ravens that we see around our neighborhoods.  Some are quite common while others are listed as endangered.  As we warm up here, we'll be seeing several of the birds returning to the Tucson area.  Our first feature today is the Gray Hawk.  Not a very creative name for a spectacular bird.  While doing the photo shoot, I was impressed with the grace and beauty that this hawk displays.

These birds are listed as Least Concern and can be found throughout the Riparian areas of Southern Arizona like the San Pedro River. You may find a nest in areas such as the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge. 

However, I'm going to rate this hawk in the moderate category to spot because it's found on the outside of the metropolitan area of Tucson.  It is more common to see a Red Tailed, Harris or Cooper's Hawk in town.   You'll find these birds on the outskirts.  As this month warms up, keep your eyes up for these migrating birds:)

Environment

open country and forest edges

Food
feeds on lizards and snakes, also eats some small mammals, birds and frogs

Breeding
the nest is made of sticks and built high in a tree. Lays one to three white to pale blue eggs

Range
breeds in Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central American, and South America to central Argentina

Stay tuned for more on this series.  These posts were photographed at the 10 AM Raptor Free Flight at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  The purpose?  To educate myself on raptors and learn their behavioral moments for photography shoots in the wild.  So far this year, I've experience a Red Tailed Hawk and 2 Cooper's Hawks in my garden.  I hope you enjoy the living desert shots and hikes that will be featured in April along with more garden updates. I'll be leaving for Mexico this Easter and hope to get some wonderful Pelican shots on the ocean.  Until then, stay tuned for more tomorrow.....

Rapture

Who says the desert doesn't have life?:)  There's life all around....you just have to keep your eyes open.  Lately I have been fascinated by hawks because they have come into my life.  I started feeding birds this summer.  By feeding birds, I attracted the hawks.  To date, we've had Cooper's Hawks and a Red Tailed Hawk visit our area.  Those links will take you to the El Presidio grounds and give you a closer look at these fascinating creatures.  Today I'm adding another hawk to know about here in the Tucson area.....the Harris Hawk.

These birds are amazing and they all have different characteristics.  I've been watching them closely as they have been watching me:)  Should I be scared?  No.  They are extremely intelligent creatures who work together as a team.  The Harris Hawk is not native to Tucson and orginally hails from South America.  But as ranchers spread out over the desert land, they brought their cattle and created water sources for this hawk.

These hawks have to be careful with our hot summer days.  The birds work as a unit flying around and catching food like jack rabbits(which can weigh up to 8 or 10 pounds!)  I snapped a shot of these birds working together in unison catching prey below.  They were extremely gymnastic during their flight. During summer days, they will hunt for prey during the earlier hours and disappear during the afternoon hell.

I'm very OCD so I asked the experts....what's the difference between these 3 hawks?  The Cooper's Hawk works as a team of 2 where the Red Tailed Hawk will swirl the highest of them all in a solitary fashion and then from out of nowhere come crashing down on its prey!  The Harris Hawk flies in a family unit.  In fact, the Red Tail Hawk will hang off to the side while the Harris Hawk flies around the sky....so you could say that there is a "pecking" order among hawks:)

I have been on the hunt for the Great Horned Owl here, but instead I have been finding nothing but hawks all around me....and to be honest, I'm totally okay with that:)  I've written in the past that I usually go with the intent to film or photograph one thing but end of getting shots of something else.  That's just how it happens.

So I headed to the Desert Museum to participate in their Rapture Free Flight show which is happening now until April 15th.  Plan your time accordingly as the shows only happen at 10 AM and 2 PM daily.  The Harris Hawks were incredible.  There was such a thrill in watching them fly all around us.  Apparently at the 10 AM show, the Great Horned Owl is featured, but that is just rumour:) So I missed the owl but learned something new.  Cool:)

The information for this show is found here.

I have been fascinated by these birds for quite awhile.  The hawk population has increased in the West due to the fact that there is a lot of food provided willingly or unwillingly by humans.  People bring their cats and little dogs which provide an excellent food source.  I've seen  two instances where hawks have made those kills.  One scared me to death.  I was cooking in the kitchen when out of nowhere a hawk crushed a pigeon in front of my window in the backyard.  The second one was sad...really sad.  Skip this part if you love your pets.  I was again by the kitchen window when a hawk came out of nowhere and grabbed the neighbor's kitten.  For that incident, I ran outside but it was too late. I wasn't angry at the hawk, but it just made me sad for the cat and angry at the neighbors for letting the kitten outside.  They were upset and the mother was crying.  People who move to the desert need to be aware that there are a lot of things out there that want to eat your precious pets.  Coyotes love yappy little dogs....and I love that they love yappy little dogs:) So be forewarned newbies.  It seems to happen to a lot of Southern and Eastern transplants from places like Virginia or North Carolina.  Coyotes, snakes, hawks, jumping cactus are just a few critters looking for Ms. Kitty or Spot the Wonderdog:)

Movies are terrible these days, but shows like these are extremely wonderful to attend....and educational.  So while the ticket for the Desert Museum may run you 14 bucks, it's money well spent.  I have a habit of talking to myself while operating my camera which comes from my father.  A fellow photgrapher was looking at me and smiling because he does the same thing. There's something about waiting patiently for an animal or bird and then....BANG! They do their show, the camera snaps....and it's really exciting all of it.  I was laughing at the hawk's shenanigans .  The birds, literally, fly right by your head....and they're big!!!

I suffer from pic overload at times, but I thought they were all pretty cool and couldn't decide which one to put on this post......so I put them all on:)

So I'll let you enjoy the show........if you're in the area, check it out.  You won't be disappointed.  And when I find owls, you can bet you'll see them here first:)  If you see hawks in your yard, don't be frightened, but do watch your pets if they go outside.  They are extremely intelligent creatures.  I've watched them corral birds into people's windows(including my own!) which knocks the bird out giving the hawk a free meal.  My cats watch the 50 some birds outside my window everyday, but when they freak out and run for their lives, I know there's a hawk nearby.....especially when I see a large shadow block the sun:)

More cool stuff tomorrow....