The red-shouldered hawk has a very distinctive, piercing cry that can be heard for a very long distance. The cry, or "scream" as it is occasionally called, is most commonly used in television and cinema as the sound for all raptors even though it is a sound unique to the species. No other raptor, especially the bald eagle with which the cry has become commonly associated through mass media production, sounds anything like a red-shouldered hawk. On my walks, I have more often heard these hawks than seen them.
Monday, as I approached the parking lot at the Blue Star Arts Complex near the end of my walk, I stopped to take a few more photos of a snowy egret below me on the river bank. I was suddenly startled beyond belief by the ear-splitting cry of a red-shouldered hawk just above and behind my left shoulder. It sounded like it was about to land on my head or shoulder. Instinctively, I ducked to my right as I turned my head to look over my shoulder. The hawk had just landed and perched on the crossbar of a utility pole only a few feet above my head.
This awesome hawk has lived in the trees across the river from the Blue Star for years. I have seen it numerous times and photographed it occasionally. But I have never before had it come this close:
Found this blog post after seeing a red-shouldered hawk in our back yard this afternoon (Feb. 27, 2012)and Googling to see if other San Antonians had experienced similar delightful sightings. We live in the subdivision in back of MacArthur High School and our back yard borders the Salado Creek flood plain near Nacogdoches Road.
ReplyDeleteRoddy and Myrna Stinson
Roddy and Myrna, The red-shouldered hawk is a truly magnificent bird. I have probably photographed the one you saw in your backyard today on more than one of my walks. The most recent post was a month ago on January 28, 2013, "It's Complicated, Yet Phenomenal (Really)".
ReplyDeleteThese hawks usually nest in the same area every year, so this is likely also the same bird that is in the Friday, May 27, 2011 post "Salado Creek Greenway, Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead, Northwest, Part 2."
By pure coincidence, I was walking the Salado Creek Greenway trail downstream from Nacogdoches Rd today. The post for this walk will be online sometime in the morning.
Donald, as I type this, six black vultures are in my back yard, about 15 feet from my kitchen window. They are taking turns drinking from a birdbath on our patio. I have lived here since 1977 and have never seen a single vulture on the ground in the backyard ... and suddenly there are a half dozen, so close I could shoot them with a water pistol. Do you have any explanation for such a thing? Roddy Stinson
ReplyDeleteRoddy, Wow! That sounds like quite a sight. If that happened in my yard I would have definitely grabbed the camera and documented it.
ReplyDeleteIt would take a lot more than I can write in a comment here to explain what I think is happening and why you now have six black vultures taking advantage of your birdbath.
To make a long story short, the wildlife in South Texas is undergoing a high level of stress right now given the rainfall and temperature pattern over the past three years or so. I haven't been out to walk the section of Salado Creek near where you live in several months, but I have walked sections both upstream and downstream from Nacogdoches Rd in the past couple months. The creek is drier now than it was during the worst of the 2011 drought. Even after the rain events we had earlier in the year, including the May 25th super soaker, the Salado has been drying out incredibly fast.
As a result, surface water is unusually scarce. I suspect the vultures had feasted on some carrion, perhaps a deer carcass, and your birdbath was the closest open source of water they could find following the meal.
Don't be surprised if you see other birds and critters you haven't previously seen show up at your birdbath. Simple water features like that can go a long way in aiding wildlife.
Donald
Thanks for the info. Sounds logical. I got a whiff of something dead this morning as I was watering the lawn.
ReplyDeleteNumerical Update: Eventually, the number of vultures grew to 11.
Surprising discovery: They are quite handsome birds.