2022 05-30 Colusa County
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Swainson’s Hawk Search
We started out by searching some new spots from recent eBird reports in Yolo County between Highway 5 and Highway 505, along the western edge of the valley. It was a very picturesque area and featured several really nice Aeromotor windmills, but no hawks…
We returned to one of our hotspots that works for us every year in Colusa County. As we drove one of the ag roads leading into our hotspot, we soon found two Swainson’s hawks on the ground right next to the road. Before we could slow down, both took flight.
Off they soared. This was a repeated pattern: coming low, soaring high, then climbing again. Gaining altitude quickly was facilitated by strong winds. It didn’t take much effort for the birds to rise up to near stratospheric heights, only to glide back down again across the fields and into, or above. some adjacent trees. We’ve seen them do this before on previous trips a year and two years ago. On trips to and from the trees they often flew low and directly overhead.
By our counts, there were 3 Swainson’s that were seen soaring and interacting in the air. They rarely landed on the ground. There was also at least one red-tailed hawk in the mix, not to mention the ever-present turkey vultures
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Read MoreSwainson’s Hawk Search
We started out by searching some new spots from recent eBird reports in Yolo County between Highway 5 and Highway 505, along the western edge of the valley. It was a very picturesque area and featured several really nice Aeromotor windmills, but no hawks…
We returned to one of our hotspots that works for us every year in Colusa County. As we drove one of the ag roads leading into our hotspot, we soon found two Swainson’s hawks on the ground right next to the road. Before we could slow down, both took flight.
Off they soared. This was a repeated pattern: coming low, soaring high, then climbing again. Gaining altitude quickly was facilitated by strong winds. It didn’t take much effort for the birds to rise up to near stratospheric heights, only to glide back down again across the fields and into, or above. some adjacent trees. We’ve seen them do this before on previous trips a year and two years ago. On trips to and from the trees they often flew low and directly overhead.
By our counts, there were 3 Swainson’s that were seen soaring and interacting in the air. They rarely landed on the ground. There was also at least one red-tailed hawk in the mix, not to mention the ever-present turkey vultures
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