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. Another revelation came when I discovered she was hunting well into the night.

Gophers 204

Gophers Blackbirds Tanzania Hunting 204

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2015

No “gophers” etc. The Common Buzzards , for example, who usually hunt by circling high above the landscape, will hover in kestrel fashion much more frequently. The kestrels , on the other hand, will more frequently hunt from low perches. You’re not a vole or a gerbil.

Fox 164

Fox Rodents Gophers Germany 164

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. More on her hunting techniques and some documented cases of her cacheing food in Part 3 on Friday December 2nd. Another strange encounter.

Gophers 187

Gophers San Francisco Blackbirds Hunting 187

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2012

Red-tailed Hawks have a habit of hunting well into the night if there is any available light and the getting is good. Gophers that live near streetlights beware. Next time you find the light fading and resign yourself to a night sky filled with owls and bats, remember that some diurnal denizens like to stay out late too.

Gophers 167

Gophers Bats Owls Hunting 167

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

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2012

She flew overhead glancing down from time to time as Buteos do when hunting. I imagine this is the last thing many gophers in Klamath see. The female then showed up and flew by quickly but calmly, surveying the scene and showcasing those pointy wings which long distant migrants seem to favor.

Gophers 171

Gophers Argentina Oregon California 171