Red-Tailed Hawk
Bird 2 of 5
Congratulations for finding me!
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I’m a non-migratory bird native to the San Lorenzo riverbed.
I’m a bird of prey. I have been sighted numerous times above The Tannery grounds soaring wide circles at great heights. In the spring that could mean that I’m courting. When I find a partner, we stay together for life. I like to hunt in pairs for one of my favorite meals, squirrels. I’m one of the largest birds you’ll see in North America, and sometimes I catch prey larger than myself. My eyes change colors as I age but I maintain impeccable vision. You may not recognize me when I’m young, because my tail isn’t red and instead has dark and light bands. I’m famous in the movies: my “shriek” is the most used bird sound in motion pictures (even if I don’t belong where the movie takes place)!
Red-Tailed Hawks have been rescued 99 times by the Native Animal Rescue in the past 5 years.
Listen to my infamous shriek and my lesser known flight call.
Photographer credit: Glen Tepke
Keep questing and find the other birds!
(Snowy Egret, Bewick’s Wren, Black Phoebe, Lesser Goldfinch)
Thank you to the Santa Cruz Arts Council, The Tannery Art Complex, Radius Gallery, Santa Cruz Bird Club, Native Animal Rescue (Lisa Rose), Lorrie Klosterman (author of Animals and Plants of Monterey Bay: Santa Cruz Shoreline), The Bird School Project (Kevin Condon) for making this public installation project possible.