2018 08-27 Meiss Rd - Sloughhouse
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We spent a little more than an hour and a slow drive along paved portion of Meiss Road this afternoon. The trip would’ve lasted longer except I forgot to look at my gas gauge and how nearly empty I was! The weather was nice with temperatures around 80F. Visibility is very good despite a little bit of smoke and haze.
Almost immediately, while driving slowly, Sue pointed out a Swainson’s hawk sitting atop a fence post perhaps 4 feet off the ground at eye level to our truck window. I had driven right past it with my eyes up on the telephone wires and some other hawks down the road. We turn the truck around and slowly approached the Swainson’s. It was a fortuitous photographic opportunity as the hawk was busy feeding on a mouse. After a few minutes, the bird flew to the next fence post and continued eating and we continued clicking off shots. After quite a while it ended up swallowing the rodent head first. In the past I’d only seen the hawks taking bites out of their food and did not know they could or would swallow prey whole.
About 50 yards further down the road there were two additional hawks. One was on top of a telephone pole, and the other was sitting on the face near the base of the same telephone pole. The upper bird was a red-tailed hawk and the lower bird was another Swainson’s. Soon the Swainson’s hawk flew up and tried to steal a rodent which the red-tail had been feeding on. After a brief scuffle the mouse was dropped to the ground and the two birds flew to separate nearby perches.
After lots of photographs of the hawks, a single American kestrel was seen on a telephone wire and it did not flush right away, allowing for a few good photographs of it too. Several other kestrels were seen but they were nowhere near as cooperative. One nice harrier fly-by occurred as well.
At this point we had to leave the area and make a quick drive to the nearest gas station.
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Read MoreWe spent a little more than an hour and a slow drive along paved portion of Meiss Road this afternoon. The trip would’ve lasted longer except I forgot to look at my gas gauge and how nearly empty I was! The weather was nice with temperatures around 80F. Visibility is very good despite a little bit of smoke and haze.
Almost immediately, while driving slowly, Sue pointed out a Swainson’s hawk sitting atop a fence post perhaps 4 feet off the ground at eye level to our truck window. I had driven right past it with my eyes up on the telephone wires and some other hawks down the road. We turn the truck around and slowly approached the Swainson’s. It was a fortuitous photographic opportunity as the hawk was busy feeding on a mouse. After a few minutes, the bird flew to the next fence post and continued eating and we continued clicking off shots. After quite a while it ended up swallowing the rodent head first. In the past I’d only seen the hawks taking bites out of their food and did not know they could or would swallow prey whole.
About 50 yards further down the road there were two additional hawks. One was on top of a telephone pole, and the other was sitting on the face near the base of the same telephone pole. The upper bird was a red-tailed hawk and the lower bird was another Swainson’s. Soon the Swainson’s hawk flew up and tried to steal a rodent which the red-tail had been feeding on. After a brief scuffle the mouse was dropped to the ground and the two birds flew to separate nearby perches.
After lots of photographs of the hawks, a single American kestrel was seen on a telephone wire and it did not flush right away, allowing for a few good photographs of it too. Several other kestrels were seen but they were nowhere near as cooperative. One nice harrier fly-by occurred as well.
At this point we had to leave the area and make a quick drive to the nearest gas station.
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Red-tailed hawk passes overhead
Buteo jamaicensis in flight 2018 08-27 Meiss Rd-Sloughhouse--004
American kestrel on wire.
Falco sparverius 2018 08-27 Meiss Rd-Sloughhouse--001
