This morning I had the privilege of observing our resident pair of red-tailed hawks. Throughout this summer, like me, you may have heard them screeching from the tops of the trees near Middlesex Rd. However, when I spotted them this morning I was surprised to see that neither have the characteristic red-tail that give them their common name suggesting these two might be juveniles that likely hatched some time during the spring. I expected these two to dining on our over abundance of squirrels before their flight south for the winter but at least when I was there they had eaten their fill and were simply hanging out together preening their feathers.
Red-tailed hawks are the most common raptor you'll see in Southern Ontario, or second most if you count turkey vultures. Those with sharp eyes can often spot them in trees or on fence post next to the highway in farm-country. The heat from roadways creates columns of hot air rising up into the atmosphere during summer providing them a natural elevator from which they can soar across fields looking for rabbits, squirrels and other small mammals that feed on crops, providing a natural form of pest-control.
