Miles and Miles of hiking trails and so much more!
Take a look around and then look up, and oh, my--a Hawk's Nest with movement up there...
looks like Ms Harris taking care of a baby hawk. Take another look around and up on several saguaros there are adult hawks watching over the babies and looking for food and probably watching me, too. These guys have excellent vision, possibly 8 times better than humans. The Harris hawk is one of only two raptor species that hunt as a group. They are currently listed as theatened or endangered. The Harris hawk can live to be between 15 and 20 years old. Fun-fact from Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum: Harris hawks practice a behavior known as "back-standing". Several birds will stand on top of each other. This may serve several important purposes. The view from the Harris hawk on the top of the stack will allow it to see over a greater area and spot prey or predators. It is also thought that this behavior may help to provide shade when each bird holds open its wings, shading the lower one.
I will be looking for that picture!
A second look into this nest high off the ground in the saguaro shows that there are two baby hawks who are well protected from predators. The Harris hawks will also use group members to help protect the nest from predators by giving alarm calls or harassing any animals who threaten their nest. Predators can include great horned owls, coyotes, common ravens and bobcats.
(The list did not include a girl with camera).
These young hawks will fledge (leave the nest for good) at about 40 days old. Some young hawks can remain with their parents for a while after fledging; these family groups have been observed hunting as a team.
Watch me grow!
(Copyright 2015)
No comments:
Post a Comment