2015 Oct 07 – hawk hill merlin, ravens and red-tails
beautiful day up on hawk hill, filled with friends, hazy blue skies, and a good number of migrating birds and butterflies.
RED-TAILED HAWK / hawk hill, marin county ca
as i arrived there we had a great look at a merlin that flew not too far overhead (a merlin is a type of small falcon, larger than a kestrel but smaller than a peregrine falcon) – it appeared to be a juvenile. they are fairly uncommon here in the bay area, but they pass through during migration time from their breeding grounds to the north – and in the time of short days we get a boost in the population as some choose to spend the winter here.
MERLIN / hawk hill, marin county ca
the humans congregated on top of the hill with their scopes and binos, calling out every moving bird within a couple of miles. it’s a rather bizarre experience, to see all these people perched on the high hill for hours at a time every day for three months of the year, but wonderful that so many committed volunteers take their time to do this. as everyone was focused afar, two resident ravens, a male and female pair, landed very close by to watch the watchers.
RAVENS with golden gate in background / hawk hill, marin county ca
RAVENS with golden gate in background / hawk hill, marin county ca
we chuckled as we realized that i was watching the birds, who were watching the other people, who were watching the other birds! these two hung around for quite a while, intrigued by the activity of the people (and likely looking for some dropped food as well). occasionally they would come very close to each other, making quiet croaking noises as one of them would groom the other’s face area. it was so endearing. and at such close quarters, in the bright sun, i could really see the intelligence in their eyes. amazing, beautiful animals.
RAVENS grooming – or perhaps a literal “peck on the cheek?”
RAVENS / hawk hill, marin county ca
RAVEN / hawk hill, marin county ca
we saw a lot of accipiters today, as expected, but were also treated to a number of ferruginous hawks, several merlins, and some late-in-the-day peregrines. after most people had packed up for the day and i was leaving the hill, a red-tail floated overhead to hunt the area and allowed for some really fun pictures …
RED-TAILED HAWK / hawk hill, marin county ca
RED-TAILED HAWK / hawk hill, marin county ca
RED-TAILED HAWK / hawk hill, marin county ca
the colors on this bird are amazing, and for an adult it has a very light eye (iris). so beautiful. thank you, my good friend!
as always happens when one packs up to leave, birds start showing themselves and tempting you to stay. as i started down the trail, one last juvenile northern harrier tried to keep me on the hill.
juvenile NORTHERN HARRIER (aka MARSH HAWK) / hawk hill, marin county ca
hawk hill today / juv peregrine shenanigans!
Exciting day at Hawk Hill today by the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the great spots for seeing large numbers of migrating raptors. The Accipiters are coming through in high volume right now, and I was able to get out for a bit to watch. The fog started to roll in just as I got there, but we still had a good number of birds coming through (and visible, despite the low fog bank).
In addition to many sharp-shinned hawks and a few cooper’s hawks, we were treated to a few peregrine falcons that flew by. But not only did the juvenile peregrine fly by – it stayed a while to perform some antagonizing aerials on resident ravens, migrating sharp-shinned hawks, and one lone harrier! It’s hard to tell if it was hunting, just playing, or something in between. The ravens seemed to be having fun playing with it. The small sharpies … definitely not so much!
juvenile peregrine falcon “playing” with two ravens / Hawk Hill GGRO Marin Headlands CA
juvenile peregrine falcon and raven
juvenile peregrine falcon / Hawk Hill GGRO Marin Headlands CA
turkey vulture / Hawk Hill GGRO Marin Headlands CA
sharp-shinned hawk / Hawk Hill GGRO Marin Headlands CA
juvenile sharp-shinned hawk / Hawk Hill GGRO Marin Headlands CA
sunday hawk hill sunset
I’m not even sure what’s going on here, despite having seen it with my own eyes. It appears that the sun is diving directly into the Pacific, with a ring of trees or other beings dancing in celebration around it on the surface of the water as the sky and clouds erupt with a glorious fire in its wake. In the middle of the water.
Fire into water.
So that’s what happens behind the fog! What a rare and beautiful treat to witness the Pacific horizon naked, its robe of fog cast aside, as it welcomes the sun into its evening embrace.
feralzach 