Hawks - Outdoor Hour Challenge

For this week's Outdoor Hour Challenge, we focused on hawks. Here in Minnesota, there are many nine types of hawks that can be seen: broad-winged, cooper's, ferruginous, northern goshawk, red-shouldered, red-tailed, rough-legged, sharp-shinned, and swainson's. 

This hawk was very close to the wetland observation deck 

at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. 

The girls and I watched it on March 16, 2009, 

as it kept scanning the ground for a meal. 

It didn't seem to bother the hawk that we were there. 

The person in the visitor center said it was either a

Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Collectively, all of the hawks can not be seen in all parts of the state, though. Some have certain areas they prefer (e.g., along the western border of the state) while others are prevalent throughout the state. Nonetheless, there is quite a variety of hawks in Minnesota - far more than we knew.

This year, one of the things that Sophia and Olivia are doing this year is being a part of the Youth Raptor Corps through the The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. It's an opportunity for youth in grades 5-8 to learn more about raptors, how to protect them, and then teach others about raptors at a spring event.

Their first Raptor Corps meeting was held on October 14, 2014. At the first meeting of the program in October, there was a presentation about the center itself and how its purpose.

Sophia and Olivia were listening to a presentation about raptors.

After that, the youth and parents were introduced to three different raptors - including a red-tailed hawk.

This is the foot with talons from a red-tailed hawk.

Items were passed around so that attendees could get a better (and safer) look at different raptor body parts.

Each of the raptors received meat to eat. It was interesting to see the difference in eating habits between the birds.

The hawk is eating its dinner for the evening.

There are additional sessions beginning again in January (there was a break in December) and running until May. By the end of the school year the girls should both have a much deeper understanding and appreciation of raptors.

For this entry, I'm focusing on the most common hawk we see around our area: red-tailed hawk. It is also the most common hawk in North America. In addition to being in rural areas where they can be seen soaring over the open fields, hawks often can be seen perching on tall light posts along the highways with their eyes fixed on the ground to see the movements of a rabbit or vole.

All About Birds had some great information about hawks that is good to know.

Size and Shape
Red-tailed Hawks are large hawks that are very broad with rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Large females seen from a distance might fool you into thinking you’re seeing an eagle. (Until an actual eagle comes along.)

This hawk was at a nature center. 

Due to injuries it had in the wild, it cannot be released 

for its own safety and well-being.

We saw this hawk on Olivia's 10th birthday - 

on January 18, 2013.

Color Pattern
Most red-tailed hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the wing underside, a dark bar between its shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it’s brown and banded. “Dark-morph” birds are all chocolate-brown with a warm red tail. “Rufous-morph” birds are reddish-brown on the chest with a dark belly.

This gentleman had a hawk he trained like a falcon.

He was at a restaurant where were eating at with friends,

and we had the opportunity to touch its feathers.

The hawk was so soft and calm.

(This was on September 13, 2012.)

Behavior
Red-tailed hawks tend to soar in wide circles high over a field. When flapping, their wingbeats are heavy. In high winds they may face into the wind and hover without flapping with their eyes fixed on the ground. They attack in a slow, controlled dive with legs outstretched – much different from a falcon’s stoop.

We were at the Science Museum of Minnesota on October 12, 2007, and 

saw this display about the wingspan of different raptors. 

The largest is the California Condor, then the American Eagle, 

Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Redtailed Hawk, and 

one more (can't remember that one). 

Olivia's armspan was about 3' total (1 1/2' on each side). 

Sophia's was as big as a red-tailed hawk...or about 4' total 

(slightly less than 2' on each side).

The girls were 6 1/2 and 4 1/2 years old at the time.

Habitat
The red-tailed hawk is a bird of open country. It is most commonly seen along fields and perched on telephones poles, fence posts, or trees standing alone or along edges of fields. It can be seen in grasslands, roadsides, the desert, broken woodland, scrublands, fields and pastures, parks, and (in Mexico) tropical rainforest.

Food
Mammals make up the bulk of what most red-tailed hawks eat. Frequent victims include mice, voles, rabbits, wood rats, snowshoe hares, jackrabbits, and ground squirrels. The hawks also eat birds, including starlings, blackbirds, pheasants, and bobwhite as well as snakes and carrion. Individual prey items can weigh anywhere from less than an ounce to more than 5 pounds.

Nest Description
Both males and females build the nest or refurbish one of the nests that they have used in previous years. Nests are tall piles of dry sticks up to 6.5 feet high and 3 feet across. The inner cup is lined with fresh foliage, bark strips, and dry vegetation. Construction of the nest takes 4-7 days.

Nest Placement
Red-tailed hawks prefer to place their nests in the crowns of tall trees where they have a commanding view of the landscape. They may also nest on a cliff ledge or on artificial structures such as window ledges and billboard platforms.

Nesting 
The clutch size is 1-5 white or buffy, blotched, or speckled with buff, brown, or purple eggs. There is one brood per year. The eggs incubate for 28-45 days and the nestling period is 42-46 days.

Sound
Adults make a hoarse, screaming kee-eeeee-arr. It lasts 2-3 seconds and is usually given while soaring. We listened to more sounds that both adults and young hawks make. When we played the sounds (especially the adult ones), the dogs immediately looked up from resting. This is a sound all-too common and one that can indicate trouble for small mammals and birds.

Interesting Fact
The Red-tailed hawk is one of the largest birds that is in North America, yet even the biggest females weigh only about three pounds. A similar-sized small dog might weigh ten times that.

Nature Journal Entries

Each of the girls focused on a different hawk. Olivia chose the ferruginous and Sophia chose the red-tailed hawk.

This is Sophia's journal entry:

This is Olivia's journal entry:

We used Backyard Birds - Hawks and Their Calls as inspiration.

Screech Owl - Outdoor Hour Challenge

Sophia and Olivia are involved with the Raptor Corps program this year that is sponsored by and held at the Minnesota Raptor Center once a month from October through May (with the exception of December).

When the girls went to their first meeting in October, we saw an Eastern screech owl there. At first it looked like a stuffed animal or toy because it was so small. It wasn't...it was an adult female screech owl named Mestaae.

Screech owl at the Minnesota Raptor Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

We were surprised at how tiny it was since 

we've seen larger owls that live around our home.

Mestaae was hatched in spring 2008 and was found as a nestling outside of the nest. Unfortunately she was not brought to The Raptor Center quickly enough and became a human-imprinted bird. Due to this, she lost some of her human fear and does not display all the normal screech-owl behaviors that she needs to in order to survive. Therefore she will have to spend the rest of her life in captivity.

She weighs approximately six ounces - about the equivalent of 1 1/2 sticks of butter. Her name is a Cheyenne word for “spirit of the night/owl” and was chosen from over 800 entry suggestions.

We were curious to learn a bit more about Eastern screech owls, so we found information out them from the Minnesota DNR website:

=> This tiny gray or reddish owl can be found throughout southern and central Minnesota.
=> It is named for its surprising call, which can sound like a crying child.
=> It has ear tufts; and big yellow eyes and a yellow beak.
=> Like other owls, the screech owl has eyes that face forward. This gives it depth perception (the kind of vision you have when you look through two eyes instead of one).
=> They are 7 to 10 inches tall.
=> When flying, their wingspan can stretch up to 2 feet across.

Different types of owls and raptors are shown on this display.

Sophia's arm span is the equivalent of a great gray owl and 

Olivia's is about the width of a red-tailed hawk.

(Taken on May 26, 2012.)

=> They weigh 7 to 8 ounces.
=> Screech owls nest in a second-hand nest or tree cavity. They are willing to nest in boxes built for them and sometimes nest in wood duck nest boxes.
=> The female incubates the eggs, eating little food during the 26 to 32 days it takes the eggs to hatch.
=> Owlets fledge in about four weeks.
=> Screech owls eat insects, small rodents, small birds, and reptiles. Sometimes they perch, waiting for food, then swoop down when something attracts their attention. They also may walk along the ground or in shallow water looking for insects or other prey.
=> Great-horned owls, hawks, dogs, cats, minks, weasels, skunks, otters, and bobcats have all been known to kill screech owls. Sometimes snakes rob their nests.
=> Screech owls can be found in deciduous (hardwood) forests, lakeshores, and suburbs throughout most of Minnesota.
=> In Minnesota, owls may not be shot, captured, transported, or owned without a permit.
=> Like other owls, one of its ear holes is higher than the other. This helps it identify the source of a sound.

We also took a look at the All About Birds website. There was a section about the Eastern Screech Owl.

Size and Shape
The Eastern Screech-Owl is a short, stocky bird, with a large head and almost no neck. Its wings are rounded; its tail is short and square. Pointed ear tufts are often raised, lending its head a distinctive silhouette.

We saw this screech owl at 

Warner Nature Center on June 4, 2011.

Color Pattern
Eastern screech owls can be either mostly gray or mostly reddish-brown (rufous). Whatever the overall color, they are patterned with complex bands and spots that give the bird excellent camouflage against tree bark.

Feather from a screech owl.

Source

Behavior
Eastern Screech-Owls are active at night and are far more often heard than seen. To know what they sound like, we listened to the songs of the screech owl.

Habitat
This owl is fairly common in most types of woods (evergreen or deciduous; urban or rural), particularly near water. It does not like treeless expanses of plains or mountains.

Nature Journal

Both of the girls did a nature journal entry. Sophia's is here:

and Olivia's is here:

Dissecting an Owl Pellet

For this nature study we didn't dissect an owl pellet since both the girls have done this twice already. However, it was worth revisiting what the girls discovered when they dissected an owl pellet.

First, they pulled away all the fur from the bones in the pellet. We were all surprised at the amount of fur that was in one pellet.

The fur in one owl pellet.

Take on May 26, 2012.

As the girls were pulling away the fur, we could see little glimpses of bones that were part of the owl pellet.

Inside an owl pellet.

Although tweezers were supplied, 

Sophia found it easier to break apart and 

separate the different parts with her fingers. 

The pellets were all sterilized prior to using them, 

otherwise it would be best to wear gloves and/or use tweezers.

Even though Sophia preferred to use her fingers to dissect the owl pellet, Olivia liked using the tools that were provided.

Olivia using different tools to 

separate the elements in her owl pellet.

By the time that the pellet was completely dissected, there was a wide range of bones that were discovered.

All the bones that were in one owl pellet.

Olivia dissected her first owl pellet on September 13, 2007...when she was only 4 years old. She used toothpicks to break apart the pellet.

Olivia using toothpicks to dissect the owl pellet.

Some of the bones that Olivia found in the owl pellet 

that she dissected on September 13, 2007.

To identify the bones found in an owl pellet, there's a free owl pellet bone chart.

Outdoor Hour Challenge - Owl Study, Raptors of the Night - Owls, and 

OHC Summer Series - #5 Owls were referred to as inspiration.