hike through any East Bay Regional In addition, all raptor young are considered listen for the call. Red-tailed hawks prey A Park, no matter the season, will “altricial” or blind and helpless at birth. on small mammals, as well as birds, provide the visitor with spectacular views. Newly hatched young are covered with reptiles, and amphibians. Often, upon looking up, the hiker will be downy fuzz and show their “egg tooth” a treated to the breathtaking sight of a small horny nub on the upper bill, which majestic bird of prey riding thermal allows the bird to break open its shell. This updrafts against a backdrop of brilliant structure, which falls off soon after hatching blue. Soaring, spinning, diving, kiting, these occurs, provides evidence of the ancestral aerial acrobats are graceful masters of the connection between birds and reptiles since skies. Yet, to songbirds, meadow voles, young snakes and lizards also possess an rabbits, snakes, and lizards, these powerful egg tooth. Both male and female raptor and efficient airborne hunters must be the parents are involved in the care and feeding stuff of nightmares. of their babies which take several weeks to reach fledgling maturity. Even after fledging, ©Don Jedlovec Fierce predators, raptors are equipped a begging young raptor will often receive Red-tailed Hawk (also bottom cover photo) with strong feet and needle-sharp talons, hand-outs from an attentive parent. Buteo jamaicensis keen eyesight (some are three times as L 18-25” WS 46-58” sharp as humans), and powerful hooked As birding becomes an increasingly bills. Designed for killing, their dietary popular pastime, identifying the abundant- A large brownish hawk with dark borders preferences vary widely as do their ly varied species which inhabit our yards on the leading edge of its wings soars on hunting styles. and local parks can be a fun and exciting seemingly motionless wings over grassy challenge. Birds of prey with their compar- hillsides. Watch the fanned tail closely as Jerry Ting Hawks, eagles, and falcons are diurnal atively large size, conspicuous appearance the bird dips and turns. Caught in sunlight Red-shouldered Hawk predators, looking for prey during daylight and graceful flight patterns can be some of at the right angle the rust-red coloration of Buteo lineatus hours, whereas most species of owls are the easiest and most thrilling to recognize. the tail feathers on the adult red-tailed L 19” WS 40” nocturnal or nighttime hunters. The turkey With some basic knowledge of field mark- hawk is revealed. One of California’s most vulture, although equipped with a strong ings, identifying your local raptor can be a common hawks, this bird often perches on This colorful hawk is a perch-hunter. bill, has weak legs and feet and is an snap, especially if you are equipped with a utility poles, tree limbs, and rock outcrops Selecting a prominent position on a high opportunistic carnivore, eating mostly pair of binoculars. where its distinctive horizontal streaked branch or post with a good view of fields, carrion, leftovers from other animal species brown belly-band is easily seen. This ponds, and lakes, the red-shouldered or road-kills. Some hawks, like the Cooper’s The following descriptions will help you helps to identify even the immature waits and watches, ready to pounce on and sharp-shinned, are woodland hunters learn our common, resident raptors. Once red-tailed, which has a brown and white mice, snakes, and frogs. Smaller than the skilled at maneuvering with speed and you are “bitten by the birding bug” you can banded tail during its first year. The red-tailed hawk, the red-shouldered has agility between tree trunks and branches to use a field guide (see “Further Reading”) to well-known squealing scream of this prominent rust-red shoulder patches and snatch unsuspecting songbirds. Others, like identify spring and fall migrants. Addition- hawk is another of its distinguishing striking white-edged, charcoal-gray body the red-tailed, are open-country hawks ally, many informative birding programs are characteristics, although many jays feathering. Nesting high in tree crotches, soaring over hills and grasslands in search offered by East Bay Regional Park District can produce an imitation call which pairs of red-shouldered hawks become of unwary rodents. Naturalists. is similar. Light and dark phases in quite vocal, producing loud shrieking plumage are common with this hawk and call-sequences as they defend their Nesting sites and habits are highly variable can cause difficulty with identification. nesting and hunting territory. with some species choosing tree cavities To avoid confusion, look for the belly- while others nest on the ground or build band, the patagials (a dark bar on the L = Body length from bill tip to tail tip stick platforms high in the foliage canopy. underside of each wing at the wrist) and WS = Wing span

of both species provides excellent camou- Visitor Centers & Recreation Services flage when these birds are perched quietly ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM within the woodland canopy. Look for Fremont, 510-544-2797 them while hiking by pausing periodically [email protected] Common­ to peer into dense thickets. You may BLACK DIAMOND MINES surprise yourself with a lucky sighting. Antioch, 510-544-2750 Both the sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Raptors [email protected] hawk are listed by the state as “species of COYOTE HILLS REGIONAL PARK special concern.” Fremont, 510-544-3220 of the [email protected] East Bay Regional Parks FURTHER READING: CRAB COVE at CROWN BEACH Jerry Ting ©Don Jedlovec Alameda, 510-544-3187 The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western [email protected] Sharp-shinned & Cooper’s Hawks North Ameirica, David Allen Sibley, IBSN 0-679-45121-8 SUNOL REGIONAL WILDERNESS Accipiter striatus & Accipiter cooperii Sunol, 510-544-3249 L 12” WS 24” L 17” WS 37” Birds of Northern California, David Fix [email protected] Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks and Andy Bezener, ISBN 1-55105-227-X TILDEN NATURE AREA/EEC inhabit forested groves and patches of Raptors of California, Hans Peeters & Pam and LITTLE FARM Berkeley, 510-544-2233 dense vegetation where they fly swiftly, Peeters, ISBN 0-520-24200-9 silently, and with great agility between [email protected] networks of branches in pursuit of their OUTDOOR RECREATION UNIT preferred prey: small birds. Both species Distict-wide programs, 510-544-2512 sometimes shock homeowners by snatch- [email protected] ing unwary songbirds from their bird TILDEN, Botanic Garden feeders. So similar are these species in Berkeley, 510-544-3169 their appearance and behavior that they [email protected] must be distinguished by size and tail www.nativeplants.org shape. The Cooper’s hawk (see photo) is This brochure is provided as a public larger in both length and wingspan than service of the Interpretive and Recreation its smaller relative and has a distinctly Golden Gate Audubon Society’s website Services Department of the East Bay rounded tail, while the “Sharpie” has a Regional Park District. sharply squared tail.The mottled coloring The East Bay Regional Park District is Text: Jan Southworth dedicated to establishing parklands for all Design: Doyle Wegner & Nick Cavagnaro to enjoy while protecting thousands of Illustration: Doyle Wegner acres of wildlife habitat. As natural habitat Cover photos: Jerry Ting, white-tailed kite in surrounding areas is reduced, the need top and red-tailed hawk bottom to protect vulnerable wildlife becomes increasingly vital. We hope that as you learn more about the natural history of EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT 2950 Peralta Oaks Court our area, you will choose to become a

sharp-shinned hawk C t s on Oakland, CA 94605 s Po u CHLORIN m ED E % conservationist and steward of our S F 0 e S R 0 100% E E r C E 1

O 1-800-EBPARKS R P East Bay Regional Park District Cooper’s hawk precious Bay Area wildlands. www.ebparks.org 8/12 www. ebparks.org