Juvenile hawk


hawkWhen 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.