The Last of the Swainson's Hawks Migration North
On the rich clay soil of a farm in Avra Valley
We don't have Swainson's Hawks for any length of time in Southern Arizona but we do get to see them seasonally. Swainson's Hawks are long distance migrators, traveling between their wintering quarters in Argentina and the wide open prairie and grasslands of western North America. Many groups of Swainson's can be seen in Southern Arizona on their way "up or down" the continent. At this time of year they were heading back up.
My friend Marty took me to his "Farm" recently where we came across about two dozen Swainson's. They were spending the afternoon in the fields loading up on crickets and other prey for the next long step of their migration.
During breeding season, Swainson't dine on the three "R's": rabbits, rodents and reptiles. During migration and non-breeding season, Swainson's eat mostly insect prey. At the Farm that afternoon, we would see each hawk standing still for a while, and then it would fly off for very short distances to capture an insect that it saw.
Swainson's Hawks have long narrow wings, pointed at the ends. Swainson's also generally are colored gray, white and brown, but the color variety ranges in this species. See how the bird below has white at the front of its underwings and gray at the back of its underwings?
This next Swainson's Hawk has brown at the front of its underwings and a light, white at the back of its underwings. The hawk is taking a short low flight to where it saw a cricket.
Getting ready to land, the Swainson's spread its wings and tail feathers to brake mid-air. Its eyes are focused on its target and its feet are dropping, getting ready to land.
"Wheels-down," the Swainson's Hawk lands on the clay field. The color of the dirt on this farm is a rich reddish-brown.
This Swainson's Hawk is standing and searching for any movement. Once it spots food, it will fly towards it quickly and directly. (The field has been worked multiple times by the tractors, breaking up the earth to get it ready for spring planting.)
This time, no prey is spotted, so after a while the hawk flew off to another part of the field. You can imagine the powerful downthrust of those big wings as it leapt into the air.
The hawk flies just above the surface of the field.
The range map indicates how far these birds travel every year.
And so the afternoon went until we left before sundown. If the Swainson's found enough food to replenish their energy and stores, they would leave the following day to continue their slow journey to their breeding grounds.
We had a nice morning birding at Sewailo this past Tuesday for our Birdathon. That report comes up next!