10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2011

I’ve seen young Red-tailed Hawk s who just don’t have the hang of it, counting on luck of good fortune to present them with a careless gopher or a rare easy meal. On this occasion Patch had secured a gopher and was dining on a streetlight. During the meal she was mobbed by several blackbirds and an American Robin.

Gophers 204

Gophers Blackbirds Tanzania Hunting 204

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Here Patch sits on a bench watching a pocket gopher tidy up the front of its burrow. Here she is carrying a squirming gopher over the heads of park-goers who actually notice the spectacle. The blackbirds had good reason to be cautious. The blackbirds had good reason to be cautious. Another strange encounter.

Gophers 187

Gophers San Francisco Blackbirds Hunting 187

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

It was actively hunting the grassy slopes and barely paid me any attention as I tried to figure out how to get as close as possible without changing its behavior. The hawk was intent on finding gophers and I used its focus to my advantage and closed the distance gradually.

San Francisco 218

San Francisco Gophers Hunting Blackbirds 218