Hawk migration

[Talking moose]

Going around the internet. Somewhere in Alberta. Swanson hawks getting ready for migration to South America apparently. Never saw anything like it before.



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[saddleup]

Saw 4 this am on the Milk River,,,,,now I know. Thanks

[Jigsalot]

That is an amazing site. Nature is so cool

[creeky]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Going around the internet. Somewhere in Alberta. Swanson hawks getting ready for migration to South America apparently. Never saw anything like it before.



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Swainsons juveniles at our place are just starting to branch (YYC).


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[MyAlberta]

I don’t know guys, does that make sense. I’ve seen eagles group up around a specific food source. I can’t imagine there would be a density of food for a group like this. If the close ones are hawks, the distant ones are eagles.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by MyAlberta

I don’t know guys, does that make sense. I’ve seen eagles group up around a specific food source. I can’t imagine there would be a density of food for a group like this. If the close ones are hawks, the distant ones are eagles.

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[Strix]

Originally Posted by MyAlberta

I don’t know guys, does that make sense. I can’t imagine there would be a density of food for a group like this.

In late summer prior to migration the diet of Swainson’s Hawks turns from gophers and mice to insects, primarily grasshoppers. They gather, often in large groups, in the fields to devour huge numbers of grasshoppers before they migrate to Argentina. I have seen these large gatherings of Swainson’s several times on the prairies. What is perhaps even more impressive are the large kettles of hawks soaring high in the sky circling on the thermals. I recall one event in Saskatchewan a number of years ago when we stopped counting at 200 primarily Swainson’s Hawks soaring in circles high above the prairie. We estimated 4 or 5 hundred in that group. They could have easily been mistaken for Sandhill Cranes that we often see riding the thermals.

[MyAlberta]

Well there you go, never too old to learn.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Strix

In late summer prior to migration the diet of Swainson’s Hawks turns from gophers and mice to insects, primarily grasshoppers. They gather, often in large groups, in the fields to devour huge numbers of grasshoppers before they migrate to Argentina. I have seen these large gatherings of Swainson’s several times on the prairies. What is perhaps even more impressive are the large kettles of hawks soaring high in the sky circling on the thermals. I recall one event in Saskatchewan a number of years ago when we stopped counting at 200 primarily Swainson’s Hawks soaring in circles high above the prairie. We estimated 4 or 5 hundred in that group. They could have easily been mistaken for Sandhill Cranes that we often see riding the thermals.

A birds version of "Surf's up".

[tallieho]

Cool Thanks for sharing...