Swainson's hawks soaring south soon

[Donna]

Within the next 10 days or so, hawks that are soaring over almost every neighborhood in Great Falls will be long gone, departing for South America.

They are Swainson's hawks, which are common in the West but suffering through a population decline. The raptors will be bound for Argentina, a trip of more than 6,000 miles, and won't be seen in Montana again until sometime in April or May.

Swainson's hawks grab a headline or two almost every summer in Great Falls — this year a pair that nested in the Riverview Boulevard and Madison Park area were written up for their aggressive behavior. In one instance, a hawk drew blood when it dove at and struck a Schwan's delivery driver on the head.

For the last week or so, adult Swainson's have watched from nearby perches as their freshly fledged juveniles perfected their soaring and swooping techniques. The exercises also get the youngsters ready for the big trip south. The kids are almost as big as the parents now, and they are hard to tell apart because of the variety of color phases.

A pair that summer every year near the Milwaukee Depot by Gibson Park appear to have successfully raised three juveniles. All five have been playing in the thermals over Broadwater Bay each day for almost a week.

A family of Swainson's in the 2800 block of 4th Avenue North also appear to be getting ready for the big trip.

Those notorious Swainson's of Riverview have dialed back their attacks on humans and will be joining the migration down one family member, which was found in a chain-link fence after what may have been an accidental electrocution.

Audubon says that Swainson's hawks leave their breeding range in August or September, and arrive in Argentina in November. The migratory flocks sometimes number between 5,000 and 10,000 birds.

"Migration from North to South America passes over land, and one can imagine the great numbers seen in Central America as the hawks are funneled by the narrowing land mass," the Audubon website states. "Veracruz, Mexico, has seen up to 845,000 Swainson's hawks in one fall. Their high numbers are joined by flocks of turkey vultures, broad-winged hawks and Mississippi kites, making one spectacular sight of migrating raptors."

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology characterizes the Swainson's hawk as a common small hawk in the West, although the birds have a wing span of up to 4 feet or more, and weigh about 3 pounds.

Caption: A couple of Swainson's hawks that have been practicing flying over Broadwater Bay take a break in a conifer Wednesday. Juvenile and adult birds can appear in different color phases, but these both appear to be juveniles.

[MAK]

    What a nice pic. Thanks Donna!   

[Bird Crazy]

beautiful birds, can you imagine seeing that many migrating at once WOW

[hawkwatcher]

Borrego Valley Hawkwatch (Borrego Springs, CA) in the spring is a good place to see a Swainson's hawk. While this hawkwatch doesn't have the the numbers migrating through that they see in Mexico (some days no hawks are counted; some days there are over a thousand at once), it's the only Spring Swainson's hawkwatch that I know of in the U.S. Not sure if I know how to upload this photo I took a couple years ago of Swainson's migrating through, accompanied by Turkey Vultures and three "hawk wanna-be's" (local Ravens who don't migrate but joined the others for fun I suppose). Hawkwatch begins 2/15 and ends 5/15 every year. If you're a list keeper, we've never had a 3/26 without Swainson's hawks. So come on down!