Beautiful little raptors
Daniel Curnow took these photos of Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo lineatus) in the Tehachapi Valley. One image shows a single adult bird, while the other shows that bird and another mating in a tree.
Red-tailed Hawks are smaller than their far more numerous relative, the Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamiacasensis). But their smaller size is coupled with being more vocal — Red-shouldered Hawks are known for their frequent “kee-rah!” calls that some people mistake for the high-pitched cry of a seagull. The call also resembles that uttered by the immature birds of other raptor species, like Redtails.
When nesting, the Red-shouldered Hawks often call repeatedly during the day. When the Mourning Cloak Ranch was a thriving botanical garden on Old Town Road, a pair nested year after year in large Fremont Cottonwood trees that lined the front driveway. Visitors to the Mourning Cloak could hear them calling kee! kee! kee! throughout the day.
Red-shouldered Hawks have distinctive black-and-white checkered wings, and reddish cinnamon-colored chests. They often appear to have very dark eyes, like glittering obsidian marbles.
Red-shouldered Hawks are considered birds of the forest and woodland, and are mostly frequently found around large, mature trees and wooded areas. Despite being surrounded by houses, two or more Red-shoulders can often be seen in Phil Marx Central Park in Downtown Tehachapi.
These raptors eat primarily small mammals, though they occasionally catch lizards, snakes and birds.