Birds on a Wire: Prairie Falcon

Another beautiful raptor is the Prairie Falcon.

Like the Peregrine Falcon the Prairie Falcon was also decimated by pesticides during the mid 1900's. Unlike the faster Peregrine Falcon, the Prairie Falcon pursues smaller prey by flying close to the ground. It likes small birds and mammals.  It's habitat preference is plains and flat scrub desert.

Prairie Falcon

Prairie Falcon

Birds on a Wire: Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon is a beautiful raptor built for speed. They catch medium sized birds, including waterfowl, in the air with swift, spectacular dives called stoops.

The population of Peregrine Falcons was significantly reduced by pesticides during the mid 1900's. After controls of pesticides were initiated, Peregrines were reintroduced in temperate areas throughout the United States with success. The result has been the recovery of Arctic nesting populations as well. 

Peregrine Falcon

Birds on a Wire: Mountain Bluebird

Next in the series of Birds on a Wire we come to the Mountain Bluebird. 

Mountain Bluebirds are fairly common in the Western United States. They can be found year round in Northern Arizona, with occasional winter sightings in Southern Arizona. Their preferred habits are prairies and sagebrush, as well as alpine tundra. They like wide open spaces where they hunt insects from perches. Thus wire provide the perfect "perch."

Mountain Bluebird

Birds on a Wire: Merlin

The Merlin is a small falcon about the size of the more abundant Kestrel. The Merlin winters in the Southwest and summers in Canada, while the Kestrel stays year round in the Southwest. The Merlin is most often seen (in Arizona) -- as the photo below suggests -- sitting on fence posts in desert grasslands. It feeds almost exclusively on small birds --- specifically the grassland sparrows.

Merlin

Birds on a Wire: Harris Hawk

The Harris Hawk (or Harris's Hawk) is a Southern Arizona raptor that is also found year round in Southern New Mexico and Western Texas as well as throughout Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay.

It is one of the few "family-oriented" raptors, often hunting in family groups up to 8 or so.

It is also a raptor prized by "falconers" since it can be trained. I remember watching the Clive Owen film "King Arthur" where Tristan has a "falcon" that rides on his shoulder. Of course knowing Harris Hawks as I do, I recognized it immediately and thought, "Gee, they didn't have Harris Hawks in England -- and certainly not in the times of King Arthur." 

That reminds me of a Clint Eastwood western movie that begins with a Turkey Vulture soaring over the desert making loud rasping calls. I recognized the call to be that of a Harris Hawk. (Actually, Turkey Vultures have no vocal organs and make no sounds). The "more" to this story is that a frequent guest of ours (she has since passed), was a close friend to Clint Eastwood. I told her about the "error" in Clint's movie. The next time she came she said she asked Clint about it. And, Clint leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Darlin' nobody will know the difference."  I guess movie directors can take whatever liberties they want, right?

Here then a photo of a Harris Hawk that is sitting on a telephone pole with a small branch it had collected for it's nest:

Harris Hawk

Birds on a Wire: Northern Harrier

Harrier Hawks also like wide open fields -- including our desert grasslands. Harrier Hawks have a different face than other hawks. It is very "owl-like."  It feeds mainly on small mammals either from a perch (like a wire fence), a lone tree, or searching from the air relatively close to the ground.

It too, winters here in Southern Arizona.

And, here too, a photo from San Rafael Valley in Southern Arizona:

Harrier Hawk

Birds on a Wire: Fox Sparrow

Desert grasslands are magnets for sparrows of all kinds. Las Cienegas just north of Sonoita is one outstanding desert grassland. But, San Rafael Valley (about 10 miles east of Patagonia) is also quite good. Today's "Bird on a Wire" comes from San Rafael Valley. 

The Fox Sparrow winters in Southern Arizona. It's diet is mostly seeds and insects. So it's winter habitat preference is ideally suited for our desert grasslands.

Fox Sparrow