When I drove into the Bluff last week, this fellow was sitting on a bench by the driveway. It seemed unconcerned even though I was only about fifteen feet from it. Hawks are usually pretty shy and I was afraid there was something wrong with it. As I parked I saw it fly from the bench and land on the ground by some bear grass about 50 feet away. He then started chasing after the numerous grasshoppers around. Again I thought there must be something wrong with it and it was sustaining itself by eating grasshoppers since it couldn’t do better for whatever reason.
Later I spoke to WCB director Victoria Saker who told me wildlife rehabber Stephanie Oravetz determined that there wasn’t anything wrong with it. Rather, she speculated that it was a juvenile from a nest observed in the trees west of the Bluff. It appears to be a Swainson’s hawk. At least that’s the closest description I found in the field guide.