The Hole in the Tree
(click on a photo to enlarge)
On Wednesday (12/16) I was scouting some areas in the national forest looking for good birding spots for the December 18 St. David Audubon Christmas Bird Count. As I expected, bird numbers and diversity were quite low thanks to a “non-monsoon” year.
As I sat in the parking area of my last checkpoint, I happened to notice a hawk, partially hidden, sitting on a mesquite branch. Noticing a rufous breast I assumed Cooper’s Hawk but to my surprise it turned out to be a red-tailed. The bird was very interested in a small hollow knothole about and two inches wide on the side of the main trunk.
The hawk awkwardly clung to the trunk as it probed and prodded into the hole with its bill. I could see small feathers flying. It made a half-dozen attempts to extract the bird inside and eventually plucked it out. I couldn’t see what it had so I watched until it finished its meal and flew to a nearby tree. Here the light was perfect to capture the hawk’s coloration and my conclusion is the Fuertes subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis fuertesi. Breeding range for this subspecies is mainly Mexico and SW Texas extending into SE Arizona. This subspecies typically lacks a significant belly-band however Red-tailed Hawks have many color variations so I can only presume my ID is correct. Comments welcome!
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis fuertesi)
After the hawk flew off, I inspected the area around the cavity and found this:
Small Feathers Stuck to the Tree
And on the ground, this:
Wing Feathers
Imagine seeking shelter in this small hole, and then meeting your fate.
One less woodpecker for the count………….. Ladder-backed? Hairy? Sapsucker? Again, comments welcome.
1/9/2010 Update: We sent the feathers to Carla Dove, head of the Feather Identification Lab, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. She identified them as belonging to a Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)! I never even considered that a Gila could fit in such a small hole. Thanks to Carla, mystery solved!
Published by Arlene Ripley on December 19th, 2009 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Cochise County, Nature
January 14th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Nice to see you keeping your hand (and your lens) in.
Miss you in frozen Maryland.