[EBB Sightings] MYSTERY HAWKS and introduction

GGRO hasn't posted it's figures yet for Sunday, October 2.  But if 
Saturday, October 1 is any indicator, the odds are with Red-tails - of 
which 82 were recorded.  Nothing else even came close.

Kay Loughman
Berkeley

Patricia Braddy wrote:

> 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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