Uuglypher wrote:
Hi, Julian,
This is a red-tailed hawk in juvenile plumage, hatched in the late Spring of 2016 and due to molt into mature plumage this summer.
There is an expected 70% mortality during the first year of life (3 in ten will survive their first year).
Although his presence may scare off the small seed-eaters attracted to the feeder, the red-tail feeds mostly on small rodents. It is a terribly INEFFICIENT predator on the small, seed-eating bird species. They are just too agile to be caught by the larger, slower moving red-tail.
Dave
Hi, Julian, br br This is a red-tailed hawk in ju... (
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The 70% mortality rate is very sad to hear about, but it's reassuring to hear that they aren't a serious danger to the smaller birds. We have one that shows up occasionally. He lands on top of the pole that some of our feeders are hanging from. Then bounces over to one of our patio tables or up on a fence. I've never seen him catch another bird, but I did get a shot of him launching off a fence before disappearing into a hedge that usually has a wide assortment of smaller birds. Never saw him come out, hopefully he was after a rodent.