2018 04-04 Woodland
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We spent about an hour along the alfalfa fields in Woodland where all the hawks have been congregating for the past two months. Skies were mostly cloudy in advance of a “pineapple express” that is scheduled to impact the zone tomorrow. Temperatures were in the low 70⁰F’s and winds were light.
There were lots of hawks were visible, most were in the air riding thermal updrafts. A few were seen on the ground in the alfalfa. A preliminary binocular census included red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks, and some northern harriers.
The hawks were riding fairly high and not particularly within good camera range, except for a few. Despite the distance, photos were taken of several mid-air hawk/hawk interactions, as well as one of a couple harriers working the dirt field on the south side of the street across from the alfalfa.
A group of seniors drove up from Santa Barbara to look for ferruginous hawks which we’ve seen regularly, but none were obvious today during our hour on site.
On the way home we went down Payen Road in El Dorado Hills where a burrowing owl had been absent from its roost for 3 weeks. Yesterday, when searching for this missing owl, a very large rattlesnake was seen occupying a burrow used by the owl. Questions remain. The missing owl was first seen and photographed by me on January 12, 2018 and the last time was March 15, 2018.
eBird has 70 records for an owl at this location and it was seen during five months of the year: October 7 November 10 December 11 January 24 February 16 March 2 photographed by me, not on eBird The drive down Payen was not without merit, however. A single red-tailed hawk had apparently grabbed a small rodent in the cow pasture to the west. Within a minute there was a total of 5 RTH’s competing for the rodent, in the air and on the ground (after the first hawk was forced to drop its prey). There was lots of aerial and ground interaction. No photos were taken.
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Read MoreWe spent about an hour along the alfalfa fields in Woodland where all the hawks have been congregating for the past two months. Skies were mostly cloudy in advance of a “pineapple express” that is scheduled to impact the zone tomorrow. Temperatures were in the low 70⁰F’s and winds were light.
There were lots of hawks were visible, most were in the air riding thermal updrafts. A few were seen on the ground in the alfalfa. A preliminary binocular census included red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks, and some northern harriers.
The hawks were riding fairly high and not particularly within good camera range, except for a few. Despite the distance, photos were taken of several mid-air hawk/hawk interactions, as well as one of a couple harriers working the dirt field on the south side of the street across from the alfalfa.
A group of seniors drove up from Santa Barbara to look for ferruginous hawks which we’ve seen regularly, but none were obvious today during our hour on site.
On the way home we went down Payen Road in El Dorado Hills where a burrowing owl had been absent from its roost for 3 weeks. Yesterday, when searching for this missing owl, a very large rattlesnake was seen occupying a burrow used by the owl. Questions remain. The missing owl was first seen and photographed by me on January 12, 2018 and the last time was March 15, 2018.
eBird has 70 records for an owl at this location and it was seen during five months of the year: October 7 November 10 December 11 January 24 February 16 March 2 photographed by me, not on eBird The drive down Payen was not without merit, however. A single red-tailed hawk had apparently grabbed a small rodent in the cow pasture to the west. Within a minute there was a total of 5 RTH’s competing for the rodent, in the air and on the ground (after the first hawk was forced to drop its prey). There was lots of aerial and ground interaction. No photos were taken.
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Red-tails having fun
Buteo jamaicensis TWO interaction 2018 04-04 Woodland-0030
