I've spent the last hour trying to find out what the hell kind of bird this is. I think it's this one, a gray lined hawk.*
Website info says "The Grey Hawk or Grey-lined Hawk (Buteo nitidus) is a smallish raptor found in open country and forest edges. It is sometimes placed in the genus Asturina as Asturina nitida.
Distribution / Range
It breeds from the southwestern United States and Mexico south to Bolivia, Brazil and central Argentina. It is fairly common on Trinidad, and there have been recent sightings on Tobago."
*
Tobago my ass, this thing is nesting and hunting in my Walnut tree..the one right over my house. I thought it was an owl, I've been hearing it for months. It goes, hoot, hoot, HOOO-OOT, all day long. Then I thought, wait, it's never awake at night, so that's strange. I got out my binoculars and watched it today and yesterday and it looks like this dude. Or chick, I think it's a girl. There must be more of them, because it's nesting. It looks like a fat wicked chicken sitting on my cable line. And it's not a "small raptor", it has a wingspan of over three feet. I wonder what it's doing here?
14 comments:
It wants to eat the cats. Keep an eye on your dog. It may not be able to kill her, but it can hurt her pretty bad!
Hawks slam into their pray and then they use their razor sharp beak to tear it apart.
My mom has lost more than one cat to these creatures.
Not sure why there isn't enough food for it to hang out there, but I would err on the side of caution.
I would watch Nikki too....
but maybe it's after your mom? ;)
You guys are right, though it's shown no interest in Niki. It's been here since last summer, but, I didn't realize it lived here. I think it's hunting birds and mice. It seemed very interested in the bird feeders. I'll try to get a photo..it gets really close.
I'd love to see a picture!!! That is amazing that it's in your tree and been around for such a long time. I think she/he is there to stay. Does the site mention if once they find a home base if they stay for years?
Off Topic - I was in downtown San Diego yesterday when the 7.2 earthquake hit--it was the biggest and loooonnngest earthquake (30-35 seconds) that I have ever experienced since I moved out here from Ohio. All the chandeliers and furniture were shaking--I was sooooo dizzy-felt like vertigo--I just could not move-everyone was running outside and my husband kept telling me to get up but I couldn't move--felt like I was going to throw up too. It was not the normal rolling motion of earthquake that I have experienced out here before. It was violent jerky and shaking big motion! There is some damage in downtown San Diego with water mains & pipes broken, windows broken and some other buildings with structural damage. Certainly we were very lucky. Mexicali, in Baja, near epicenter has huge damage and many injuries and some fires that burned for hours. VERY FRIGHTENING!!!
The geologist who was on the news last night explained that when you feel rolling motion during a quake that means that you are farther away from the epicenter and when you feel shaking and jerking you are much closer.
All the boats in the bay and harbor were violently thrashed about and into each other--just saw some video of that and it was amazing.
May a gnome comment? (Too small to be a troll.) Look at the Northern Goshawk. Betcha that's what it is.
DD he /she will not go after Nikki. I've got a few
behind my house living in rosedale ravine they
hunt mostly mice moles and voles. He's a keeper !
If u can't get him to go after Tuwela I'll take
him off your hands. I've got a few frogs /toads
I'd like to feed him from my koi pond. The larger
of the pairs added back in 2007 wintered over and
as grandparents when the ice melted the many
fingerlings submerged were a delightful surprise !
Spring has sprung in the Ravines of Rosedale :) Kiki
DD - when it is sitting perched, are its tail feather longer than the the end of the wing feathers or are they all the same length? (Does that make any sense?)
Robyn
Nancy!!! OMG! I was thinmig about everyone I know out in the LA area. Thats a huge quake. It was bigger than the one that hit Haiti! I am so sorry that you had to endure that & it made you wanna throw up! I know what thats about! Hope you dont have too bad of after shocks. Lots of quakes the last couple of months. All pretty bad ones too. The plates are really shifting. Think 2012 has some truth to it? :(
rox
Northern Goshawk? I looked that up and it looks sort of like that... But, it's light all over though, large and I can't see any spots. I need a pic of it for you.
Pretty interesting if that's what it is, Pat. I was watching some Discovery show, and they were talking about how many species have migrated further north to keep the same climate range.
NancyB, I am glad that you are okay. That must have been very frightening to go through. Where I live we have the potential for some very large quake activity as a major fault line goes right through Portland, and right under the medical school and hospital.
A few years ago we had one that was in the upper 4 range, and it rolled steadily for a long time. Very scary, and difficult to reassure patients that things were okay.
Interested in your bird feeders? OMG, they've caught on. I had what I thought was an immature red tail hawk lunching on the snowbirds at my bird feeder.
I'm sure by now others have mentioned this, but Don't let Nikki out by himself & when he is out keep your eye on him and the hawk.
This hawk isn't a giant, like a great horned owl, it's after small prey. Oh, and I forgot to say, I'm familiar with birds of prey, I've raised all of them that are native here. This one is something I've never seen before.
Also, the hooting call is very strange.
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