A noticeable decline in birdseed consumption in our back yard has us wondering: what’s changed? There’s a new cat prowling the neighborhood, and we’ve had a couple of Santa Ana wind events. The birdseed didn’t smell rancid. Why the downturn in our feeder traffic? This juvenile red-tailed hawk might be a key. Notice that itContinue reading “Red-Tailed Hawk”
Category Archives: Raptors
Cooper’s Hawk
We’ve had a feeder up since Christmas, and are attracting lesser goldfinches, house finches, fox sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, juncos, mourning doves and California towhees. And now, their chittering attracted the attention of the neighborhood Cooper’s hawk population. We’d previously seen one standing at the edge of and in the birdbath, and they’re frequently observed perching on utility poles during ourContinue reading “Cooper’s Hawk”
Cooper’s Hawk
A juvenile cooper’s hawk recently stepped into our birdbath. https://youtu.be/6YXhTKHQmgk This was the first time since the trail cameras were installed that we had a sighting on film. We had already seen one fly into the oleander hedge and swiftly emerge with something in its talons. I’d never seen a raptor in a birdbath.Continue reading “Cooper’s Hawk”