[EBB Sightings] MYSTERY HAWKS and introduction

Glen,

Migration has been on going for a couple of months, now.  If you  
visit the ggro.org (Golden Gate Raptor Observatory) website  and use  
the Hawk Watch tab there are daily accounts of species and numbers of  
raptors  that are being observed from Hawk Hill in Marin County.   On  
August 25th GGRO reported  "many Red-tail divebombs between  
juveniles".  It seems this behavior may not be uncommon, especially  
during migration.

Is it possible that you and Sylvia saw different groups of Red-tailed  
Hawks?


Patricia Braddy
San Ramon

On Oct 6, 2005, at 10:04 AM, Glen Tepke wrote:

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
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