A Moment with Nature

From the Western Heritage Nature Trail System

David Hooten,

RMEF Life Member (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)

National Wildlife Federation Member

Featuring:  Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

The Red-tailed hawk is one of the most common hawks seen in southeastern New Mexico and can be found throughout North America. It is one of the largest hawks, weighing between 2 to 4 pounds. The females are a third larger than the males, and having a wing span of 56 inches.

When travelling local highways, dusty oil field roads, ranch and farm roads you will usually see several of these magnificent birds. They soar above open fields, in circular flight patterns. They are common birds seen sitting atop wooden power poles. Red-tailed hawks perch high up, they are watchers; their eyes are attentive to any ground movement meaning a possible meal.

Red-tailed hawks have broad, rounded wings and a short wide tail. The females are larger and sometimes are mistaken for a Bald Eagle in the distance.  Their general color pattern is a rich brown above and pale below, with streaks to blotches on their belly and wing underside feathers. The tail has a pale color below and cinnamon red above on mature hawks, which identifies this bird easily. The young immature hawks are brown and banded on the tail’s end.

Red-tailed hawks are carnivores (meat eaters) and they belong to a category of birds known as raptors—birds of prey. Raptors have strong, hooked beaks for tearing flesh; their feet have three toes pointing forward and one toe turned back. These toes function as claws, and they are called ‘talons’, which are long, curved and very sharp for clutching prey. The long talons kill the prey, and if too large to swallow whole, the Red-tailed hawk holds onto the prey with its talons and tears the prey apart with its beak into bite sized morsels.

Red-tailed hawks are common in our region of the country all year. They are not migratory birds, and fly south for the winter. Hawks that reside in Alaska and Canada will fly into the northern tier of states during winter, but this is to find plentiful food sources and then return to their normal ranges in spring. Red-tailed hawks love open country. Look for them along fields, meadows in forested areas, prairie groves and wide spread plains.

Located on the Western Heritage Nature Trail south side is a bronzed replica of a mature Red-tailed hawk that you can view up close. Per chance walking around the Nature Trail’s system you might actually see a Red-tailed hawk perched on the oil rig tower, flying overhead in circles, making a 2 to 3 second screeching sound and giving you the eye from above.

Bird Facts:

·       Red-tailed hawks along with other hawk species are ALL carnivores (meat eaters) and known as raptors.

·       The Red-tailed hawk is the most common bird of the buzzard hawk family.

·       Red-tailed hawk’s eyesight is 8 times as powerful as a human eye.

·       Talons are its main weapons, clutching and killing.

·       Up to 90% of the Red-tailed hawks diet consist of small rodents (not chickens, as this hawk is also known as the chicken hawk, an erroneous title).

·       Federal and State laws protect ALL RAPTORS (hawks, eagles, buzzards) with hefty fines and maybe even some jail time for convicted offenses.