Swainson Hawks and the northern frontier
Wanted to share some experiences of one of the most
interesting birds of prey in our area. The Swainson hawk is a migratory bird
spending spring and summer in northern California and places mostly north of
here. By late summer they bolt south from Mexico, Central America and South America to spend their fall and winter
where the weather is conducive to their liking. The sights they see along their
journey must be nothing short of spectacular. It is a wonderful sight to see
them arrive around late March or April just knowing they made their trip
safely. Here in our area they arrive right about when the Ferugenous hawks move
on. They will share areas with the slightly larger red tail hawks and will hold
their own against them.
It is my opinion of the swains is that they are the handsome raptors,
very athletic, fierce looking and very accomplished fliers. Much like the red
tails seem to have a lot of time for leisure dive bombing their family members,
nemesis or anyone else who happens to share their fly ways. And they will talk
while doing so yet with a softer voice than the red tails. Swains cut the wind
with ease and can hold still in powerful winds when hunting prey below. Then
without a wing beat tilt their body and vanish across the prairie heading home.
The swains will also band together at times when food is abundant. I have seen
many gather when farm equipment exposes rodents in large fields. They will fly
with prey in talons sometimes for quite awhile, occasionally dropping moles or
mice to other hawks to catch in mid air. They are an entertaining species to
observe to be certain. Viewing Swainson hawks in Contra Costa County is best on
the eastern side mostly east of Pittsburg certainly Oakley, Brentwood and
Byron.
I have monitored some nests for the last
several years; though out of respect do not go close enough to possibly cause
issues. One nest in Byron has been blown to the ground twice by wind storms
once this year just two months ago. Though this year the birds moved on, last
time they rebuilt the nest and successfully raised two youngsters late in the
season. A troubling issue here in Contra Costa is the young birds being hit by
vehicles during their first few flights. This may in part be due to increasing
human population and many high speed roads. It is tough to witness youngsters
that did not make it especially from such a remarkable species. The good news comes
with seeing other young birds quickly becoming decent fliers and ready to go
south with their parents. The photo of the youngster on the cable wires was
just taken about a week ago and there were two young healthy birds from one
nest that had been practicing their aerial skills and look to me to be over the
hump.
Sending photos of a few
swains, (though I realize I still haven’t taken the pictures I would like) of
these amazing birds. Including other animals from their northern habitat
including a raccoon, jack rabbit, red fox and the barn owl cave featured in the
original Livermore independent article. Also a poor shot of a red tail-swain
encounter, (cowboys vs. aliens) though it does show how serious things can get
when these adversaries mix it up a bit.
Thanks.
Dave
