[EBB Sightings] MYSTERY HAWKS and introduction

Sorry for the late response, but on August 22 I saw seven Red-tailed 
Hawks -- five juveniles and two adults -- in the same area as Sylvia's 
report, soaring together over Lookout Point in Joaquin Miller Park in 
Oakland.  At the time I assumed it was just a momentary assembly of 
migrating birds, but if the same group is in the same area more than a 
month later, it makes me wonder -- do Red-tailed Hawks form persistent 
social groups?  Is it possible that it is a family group -- do Red-tails 
ever fledge as many as five young?

More recently, there was a Golden Eagle perched on one of the antennae 
atop Round Top in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve yesterday evening.

By way of introduction, my wife Carol Chetkovich and I are birders who 
recently returned to Oakland after living in Boston for eight years.  We 
live in the Oakmore neighborhood adjacent to Dimond Canyon.  I also 
enjoy photographing birds and other wildlife (photo gallery address 
below).  We're looking forward to getting reacquainted with Bay Area 
birding and meeting other members of this list.

Good birding,

Glen Tepke
Oakland
g.tepke (at) comcast (dot) net
www.pbase.com/gtepke


Sylvia Sykora wrote:

> Dear EBB,
>  
> I'm hoping for some elucidation about five (possibly six) hawks seen 
> together on Sunday, October 2, between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m.  The birds 
> were first seen as a group of three which spent about 30 minutes flying, 
> diving, interacting, separating and coming back together, soaring high 
> and then gliding as low as our tree tops, over the southern end of 
> Montclair in Oakland.  I was on the roof and had 360 degree views for 
> most of that time.
>  
> The birds appeared and disappeared, flew back into sight, out of sight 
> behind trees but generally circled in the same very large area, east and 
> south over Redwood Park, west toward the Bay and north over Skyline 
> Blvd.   As two of the original three birds disappeared from view to the 
> west, three more appeared immediately from the south and were, I believe 
> new individuals.
>  
> All birds gave an appearance of being very light from below.  They were 
> buteo-shaped but seemed large and heavy.  The "fingers" at the tips of 
> their wings were black.   As they flew low, there was an appearance of 
> a pale buffy band across the chest.   After flying out-of-sight around 
> 6:30, one bird flew back into view at 7:00 p.m. and landed atop one of 
> our deodars.  With glasses I could see a finely banded, pale tail.
>  
> Kay Loughman has suggested juvenile Red-taileds.  Their playful 
> behavior, including mimicking courtship flight free falls, makes that an 
> attractive possibility.  Any other ideas?  Did anyone else see this 
> bunch?  And how common  would a group of five or six be when not feeding?
>  
> Thank you for any ideas you may have.
>  
> Sylvia Sykora
> Oakland
> Montclair - near Castle/Skyline