Another Reason For The Squirrels To Be Nervous

Red Shouldered Hawk

This isn't the greatest picture of it, but this Red Shouldered Hawk has been working the canyon behind our house for a while now.

We had been seeing and hearing the hawk for a while as it circled over the canyon, but we weren't sure whether it was a Red Shouldered Hawk, a Red Tail or a Cooper's Hawk.  We finally made the identification as a Red Shouldered Hawk after we viewed Bert Kersey's excellent video Bring On The Birds.  Bert's video has very clear photography and very entertaining commentary on many of the birds found in the San Diego area.

The section of that video on hawks included audio of the territorial "Kee-aah"cry of the Red Shouldered Hawk.  Just after we shot this picture, this hawk launched itself off the wire into the canyon with the same cry, which you can hear at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/sounds.

Since Red Shouldered Hawks mostly eat small mammals, as well as lizards, snakes and amphibians, the  remaining California Ground Squirrels have yet another reason to be nervous, in addition to the Gray Fox lurking in the shrubbery.