![]() Q: I’ve come across some blasted-out looking trees in the woods, and a naturalist told me that this is the work of a pileated woodpecker. So robins tilt their heads to cast one eye on the ground, with the other eye looking upward, keeping watch for predators. Birds must turn their heads to turn their eyes, and robin eyes are placed on the sides of their head. ![]() Q: I’m getting conflicting stories: When a robin runs across the ground, then stops and tilts its head, is it watching for worms, or listening for them?Ī: Robins use their sense of sight to find worms in the ground. ![]() You can hear recordings at: /guide/Great_Horned_Owl/sounds. These owls are the earliest to nest in our area, and they start the breeding season with duets, then, as the female sits on the nest, they occasionally hoot back and forth. Q: What’s the owl that’s calling in my neighborhood in early spring, making deep bass hoots?Ī: You’re almost surely hearing a pair of great horned owls communicating with each other. All this would be a windfall for a blue jay or other bird to find.Ī red-tailed hawk scans the roadside for a meal. Such a mammal nest might also harbor insects and spiders. Q: Why would a blue jay destroy a squirrel’s nest? Do they want to use the material for their own nests?Ī: Those squirrel nests, called dreys, built out of sticks and leaves, often hold some of a squirrel’s food stash, including seeds and nuts. The hawks do this because they’ve learned that highways offer good hunting. Paul, that seem to have a red-tailed hawk perched on a light pole every half-mile. ![]() There are a number of highways in the metro area, notably Hwy. Small mammals like voles, mice and rats forage in the grassy medians and roadsides for food scattered among the litter that humans toss out of their cars. What draws raptors to the roads?Ī: That’s an excellent observation of a phenomenon that I call “highway hawks.” Red-tailed hawks and some other raptors have learned that our highways are rife with rodents, so they perch on light poles, nearby trees or signs and wait to spot a meal. Now I see this happening around here, which I never noticed before. Q: We’re just back from an auto trip to Florida, during which we spotted dozens of hawks hunting along the roadways. ![]()
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