Nature Note #135: What a Beauty-o

As January comes to a close and the new year continues on, I have taken some time to look for a common bird that everyone seems to notice, but rarely talks about. No, I'm not talking about feeder birds like titmice or finches, or ducks and geese that winter on our shores, or common city birds like sparrows.

This bird can be seen with regularity soaring over any farm field, scanning a highway corridor at rush hour, or sitting on a wire like this one I saw at Kaveski Farm Conservation Land in Concord, MA.

It is the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and while they are as easy to see as I've described, I feel like they are often overlooked as well. Maybe it's because they're so common that the people that see them so often get used to them. Even in recent years as I became more of a birder than a naturalist, I would note where a given species was and then move on to the next one I saw or heard. It wasn't until I read and then reread Lyanda Lynn Haupt's Crow Planet with her remarking that in order to better understand wildlife in an urban setting, one had to get past the idea that an animal or bird was "just a robin" or "just a squirrel". And so that is what I've tried to do. It isn't difficult either to foster a sense of appreciation for these amazing birds.

Several days before my trip to Kaveski, I visited Lincoln Meadows in Sudbury and described how I watching the soaring progress of a Red-tail above me. A pair of these raptors were looping and circling with ease over the cold allotments below with only sky and sun as fellow companions. It was amazing to witness. The bold brick red tail trailing behind a cream belly and speckled chest topped with a brown head make this bird unmistakeable when out in the field.

My most recent sighting of one of these birds was when I was helping out with the Superbowl of Birding last Saturday. An immature bird was perching near the nature center at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary and seemed undeterred by the multitudes of young birders watch it below. It even seemed to bask in their collective wonder at the closeness of its perch. While I did get a photo of the bird (with my phone rather than my camera), it was still amazing to be within 10-15 feet of this master of the air.

According to The Sibley Guide to Birds (Second Edition), the average Red-tail is 19 inches long, has a wingspan of 4 feet, and weighs just under 2 1/2 lbs (only half a pound larger than a large bag of sugar!). This may not seem like much, but what it means is that while the bird is light enough to glide and power itself through the air, it is powerful enough to stoop and tackle prey up to the size of a hare. They do this by using their powerful eyes which are so sensitive that they can spot prey from up to 1/2 a mile away. With how close I've been able to get over the past few days, I wonder what these birds thought of me as I gazed back at them.

As my winter birding adventures continue, I hope I will get to see more of these beautiful birds in February, but I also hope to snag some of their relatives like Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) as well. For now, I hope I've inspired you to take a closer look at these lovely birds in the future and share in my appreciation for their place in this world.