Hi Jared - that's wild about seeing the Swainson's with a live rabbit... And I meant to say these were "year birds" for me - not the first EVER Swainson's that I've seen in Centennial. oops! I had my first backyard House Wren yesterday also, along with 2 White-crowned Sparrows that seem to be sticking around. Rosanne Centennial
On Monday, April 27, 2020 at 10:27:44 AM UTC-6, Jared Del Rosso wrote: > > These are very likely the same Swainson's Hawks -- and is indeed the same > string of transmission towers -- that I referenced in my post last week > about these birds. Thanks to all who weighed in on the differences between > Swainson's and Red-tails. The former are smaller, with, I'm told, smaller > talons. They also pursue insects regularly and, so, may not hunt as early > as Red-tails do. (I noted the first hawk to show up on the transmission > towers is always the local Red-tail.) > > In following up on that post, I read the Birds of the World entry on > Swainson's and learned that they can take bats! These hawks seem half > buteo, half Cattle Egret, and half falcon. (I recognize that adds up to a > bird and a half, but I'm okay with that.) > > Among the most enduring and startling wildlife experiences I've had is > courtesy of a Swainson's. Along the High Line near the rec center that > Rosanne mentioned, I encountered one low in a cottonwood with a > still-living cottontail in its talons. The rabbit looked down at the trail, > seemingly right into my eyes, with an expression of both distress and > resignation. It seemed to know death was above it, though perhaps those > were only my thoughts. It took everything I had to let the bird be. (But of > course I did...) > > Finally -- a few days after my post about Red-tails never being on > electrical lines on these transmission towers, I encountered one nearby, at > Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, indeed briefly perched on the lines. I saw it > from afar, while running. As I got closer, I also saw that the portion of > the wire where I thought the bird might have been perched was encased in > what look like a second, plastic shell that made it wider, still, than the > surrounding wire. So perhaps the hawk was on that, not the wire itself. > > In other news, on Saturday, I saw my first House Wren, Barn Swallows, > Vesper and Lincoln's Sparrow of the year. This morning, a House Wren was > singing all morning in the local yards. > > - Jared Del Rosso > Centennial, CO > > On Monday, April 27, 2020 at 10:03:12 AM UTC-6, rosanne juergens wrote: >> >> [image: IMG_1191 Swainsons Hawk top of tower_Goodson.JPG] >> >> [image: IMG_1192 2nd Swainsons Hawk-Goodson.JPG] >> >> [image: IMG_1186 Swainsons Pair_Goodson.JPG] >> A pair of Swainson's Hawks were perched atop the power tower in the >> Goodson Rec Ctr parking lot Sunday (yesterday). Throughout the years I have >> spotted one hawk, and this is the first time I saw two together. These also >> were my first Swainson's sightings in Centennial. >> Rosanne Juergens >> Centennial, CO >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0e83d352-9cf0-43e2-8d4d-3f3bccef6525%40googlegroups.com.
