Ferruginous Hawk  (Buteo regalis)
 

                                                            by Jeremy Telford

  
    As winter approaches there are two groups of birds I look forward to seeing. I enjoy seeing the ducks that find whatever water hasn’t frozen over and the hawks as they gather to the power poles. One hawk in particular I try to keep a sharp eye out for. It is the largest of the Buteo hawks and its scientific name Buteo regalis means ‘regal hawk.’ With its stately gray head, rust colored back, and often a pure white belly the Ferruginous Hawk looks regal indeed.

     This fairly large bueto flies with wings upturned but tips level. Easiest way to identify the light morph is that the legs create a rust colored ‘V’ while it is flying and the belly is white and free of streaks or belly bands, though juveniles may have some rusty barring. Sitting you can see the rust colored back, white chest and grey head. The gape of the bill is also large extending under the center of the eye. Ferruginous Hawks and Rough Legged Hawks are the only two species of hawk in North America to have feathered legs extending all the way down to their feet.
     In the spring courting includes the male flying and dipping in a behavior called ‘sky dancing.’ Male and female may also entwine beaks or talons and freefall spiraling from the sky. For those that have seen the movie ‘The Big Year’ they show a pair of Bald Eagles displaying this behavior while the birders are on Attu Island.
     Mating pairs are thought to be monogamous. The male gathers most of the building materials for the nest while the female does most of the construction. They typically use larger branches that are hard to weave together so many times they will build on top of raven or other hawk nests which are more stable than their own constructions. Besides branches they may use some man made materials and even bone to create it. The female then lines the nearly finished nest with bark, hair, or other soft material such as cow dung. A Ferruginous Hawk clutch can be anywhere from 1-8 eggs but is typically 3-5. They can nest on cliffs, trees, or even on the ground. Though ground nestings are significantly less successful than those higher up.

     The Ferruginous Hawk is a western bird preferring the sagebrush plains and juniper forests on either side of the rocky mountains. West of the mountains they mainly hunt rabbits and hares on the eastern side they tend to hunt prairie dogs and ground squirrels. They employ a number of hunting techniques from diving from low perches, to hunting on the wing, kiting in place as they search, they can even hunting by running and hopping along the ground. Other times they may wait outside prairie dog holes waiting for them to emerge. They have also been known to close their talons into ‘fists’ to stick in the burrows and grab the rodents that way.
     Utah is prime breeding grounds for this hawk. Many migrate south for the winter but enough stay year round to make winter, in my opinion, the easiest time to see them. This is because during the warmer months they tend to stay out away from the roads along cliffs of larger junipers. During the winter it is fairly common to see them just off the road in agricultural areas sitting on power poles and hunting the fields.
     The Cornell site and Audubon site are at odds as to the conservation status of this bird. Cornell states populations are stable or may be increasing with as many as 80,000 birds in the population. The American Bird Conservancy stated a population as high as 110,000 as of March 2020 and that it is on the increase. The Audubon site, on the other hand, claims their status as threatened with current population possibly being less than 4,000 pairs. The peregrine fund may state the reason for the discrepancy between sites. According to them Birdlife International categorizes the species as ‘Least Concern’ because of the overall status of the bird. However in Alberta, Canada the population has sharply decreased 64% in the space of just 15 years leading the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) to list the species as threatened.
     Either way this large hawk seems to be less commonly seen than either the Red Tailed or Rough-legged Hawk and is a treat to see every time I happen to come across one.

Photos by Jeremy and Kristin Telford  (2016)
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ferruginous_Hawk/overview
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ferruginous-hawk
https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/hawks/ferruginous-hawk
https://www.desertmuseum.org/visit/rff_ferruginous.php
https://abcbirds.org/bird/ferruginous-hawk/
https://hawkwatch.org/learn/factsheets/item/638-ferruginous-hawk

Field Trip Reports
 

 20 November 2021

2021 Turkey Trot

by Suzi Holt
  

We had a great group of 15 birders.  Our total for Turkey Trot 2021- 260!!

East Lawn 0!!
South Fork 126!!!
We then headed to Diamond Fork and finished it with 0 turkeys darn it!!
Elk Ridge another big 0!!!...
 

Thanks to all who came!

Our consolation prize was
10 Lewis's Woodpeckers
 on Powerhouse Road!

HaPpy Thanksgiving!
  

     If you have had any interesting field trips on your own this month,
feel free to write a report for the newsletter!

(Send it to: ucbirders@utahbirds.org)