Last night my son and daughter-in-law
called at 11:00 pm to tell me they thought an
eagle was sitting on the bench in their nature garden.
A taking pictures, they went inside to bed.
This morning (9/8/08) at 7:30 am
Lori called and said the bird was still on the bench!
Getting my granddaughter off to school and grabbing
my camera, I hurried off to their house a few blocks away
to see this incredible site. He was beautiful! Never moved,
watched us and never made a sound. I was
absolutely in love with this beautiful bird! I didn't know
kind of bird it was! He looked like an eagle to me!
After awhile, the wildlife man came, checked him out
and let us know it was a "Red Tail Hawk" - and actually
the biggest he had seen in at least three years.
He assured us this bird would be well taken care of.
It is a state bird and a $10,000.00 fine if killed.
This bird is in good hands - will have his wing fixed -
get some rehabilitation and let out in the wild again.
We were assured we were allowed to call and check on him.
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Not An Eagle...
Not knowing this idenity
An eagle we did think
Sat upon the garden bench
Never searching for a drink
He watched as we walked about
Taking pictures of this bird
Turned and twisted just his head
As if listening to our every word
Wildlife guy came by to see
His curosity was fast and quick
We did find out it wasn't a eagle
With a broken wing, not sick.
A Red Tail Hawk how sad, but true
With mischief on his brain
To us he was so pretty
And driving us all insane!
Little rabbit in the cage
Is what his heart desired
Yet he couldn't get inside
Kept neat and safely wired.
Now on the ground he's hopping
Getting out of the sun and heat
While animal control comes get him
He'll be fixed and so complete.
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A few facts about
Red Tail Hawk:
Description
Size: 45-65 cm (18-26 in)
Wingspan: 114-133 cm (45-52 in)
Weight: 690-1460 g (24.36-51.54 ounces)
Large hawk.
Wings long and broad.
Tail broad and red.
Most commonly with pale chest and dark band across belly.
Extremely variable in appearance with light and dark forms.
Tail reddish on top, with dark band near end.
Tail lighter red below; unbanded.
Light forms: Head darkish brown. Throat dark or white. Chest white or with rusty streaks.
Dark band of streaks across belly variable,
from very dark to nearly absent.
Dark patches at leading edge of wing, and dark trailing edge.
Back dark brown with white mottling; white forming
loose "V" on shoulders. May show pale eyestripe.
Dark form: Dark brown all over. May be rufous on chest.
Tail red on top.
In flight, front of wings dark, flight feathers pale,
with dark trailing edge.
"Harlan's Hawk" is a dark form
without red on tail.
Summer Range
Breeds from Alaska to Labrador,
southward to Mexico and the Caribbean,
down to Panama.
Winter Range
Winters from southern Canada southward.
Habitat
Found in open areas with scattered elevated perches,
including agricultural areas, fields, pasture, parkland,
broken woodland, and scrub desert.
Food
Small and medium-sized mammals, birds, reptiles.
Behavior
Foraging
Sit-and-wait predator, usually watching from
elevated perch.
Also hovers in strong wind.
Reproduction
Nest Type
Large bowl of sticks in tall tree or on cliff ledge.
Lined with bark, green twigs, and other items.
Egg Description
White, marked with brown blotches.
Clutch Size
1-5 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless and covered with white down.
Conservation Status
Populations increasing in much of North America,
apparently in response to the widespread establishment
of open, wooded parkland in place of grassland
or dense forest.
Other Names
Buse à queue rousse (French)
Aguililla parda (Spanish)
Vision --
Hawk's vision is much better than humans.
They can see spiders and beetles from afar.
Hawks can see a mouse from a height of one mile.
How old do they live? --
The hawk's average life span in the wild is 20 years.
In the program, hawks die of old age
(when they reach 20 years)
or from lack of food
(that is, less than three squirrels per year).
Predators --
They have few, if any, natural predators,
but they have enemies such as pollution,
particularly from pesticides, and habitat
destruction from developments.
In short, humans are their main predators.
Causes of death --
In addition to their predators,
young hawks can die from learning
to fly or eating big snakes.
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