Corralitas Drive: Hawkwatch 2014

Photo: Esteban Gonzalez, February 5, 2014.  Gonzalez was fortunate to capture photos of "2 awesome hawks outside my balcony. The one on the post is obviously having lunch."  Lunch certainly look like the Red Tails are dining on squirrel.

Indeed, we've seen similar behavior in our resident Red Tailed Hawks at the same time, last year.  It's hard to tell from the cell phone photo, but it may well be an adult feeding one of last year's brood, who is not yet adept at catching squirrels. 

Nesting season began February 1. At a 2 Freeway Terminus meeting last year, CalTrans publicly stated, they will not work within 1000' of nesting raptors.  We'll see how that works out when they start on the sound walls on the 2 Freeway.   

Be on the lookout for Red Tails flying to & from Corralitas & the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract & their nest on Allesandro & Rosebud. They'll be calling to each other a lot soon. 

Cooper's Hawks tend to mate & nest in the area around Riverside Place & Red Car Canyon.  I almost always see Cooper's Hawks near the historic landmark How House on Silver Ridge. 

Red Shouldered Hawks nest on the northern end of the Red Car Property near Adelbert.

Kestrels were making a comeback, seen on Corralitas & the meadow area of the Red Car Property. 

Historic Viaduct Footings: Kestrel Sighting

Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 28, 2012, 9:33 AM.  This is the only shot I got of the Kestrel sitting atop one of the young California Black Walnut Trees at the top of the historic Red Car viaduct footings on the Red Car Property.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

As my (on-leash) dog & I approached the viaduct footings, I caught sight of a Kestrel sitting atop one of the trees, about 100' away.  (That's why the photo is such poor quality.)  My dog lunged and this Kestrel took off before I could get a second shot.  (No birds were even threatened by my dog. We were 75' away.) 

While snapping this photo, I heard a second Kestrel calling from the trees further upslope from the viaduct footings.  Learn more about Kestrels and listen to their distinctive calls:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 

Red Car Property: Kestrel Is Hanging Around

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 7, 11:14 AM.  For the third time in three weeks, I encountered a Kestrel.  Just like last Saturday, this one swooped down to catch flying bugs, above the meadow, on the Red Car Property.   (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 6, 2012, 11:15 AM.  Like last week, the Kestrel was using the tops of the native California Black Walnut Trees to launch its speedy hunting forays. 

Why should you care if these small falcons are in the neighborhood?  They are a positive sign of a healthier and biologically diverse environment.  In 2010, Dan Cooper, wildlife biologist, told me Kestrels are becoming increasingly rare throughout the corridor between Griffith Park and Elysian Park.  Since 2005, when a pair of Kestrels last nested on the 2 Freeway side of Corralitas, I've rarely seen Kestrels.  So 3 sightings in 3 weeks is a good sign. 

Learn more about Kestrels: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Red Car Property: American Kestrel, Rare Sighting

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 31, 2011, 9:59 AM.  American Kestrels used to be common in the neighborhood.  This is only the third time I've seen one in 2011, the last sighting was Christmas Eve at dusk atop Corralitas Drive.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Kestrels are the smallest falcons.  This one was about the size of a pigeon, only more aerodynamic. I was nearing the canyon from the Corralitas end of the Red Car Property, when the Kestrel swooped down and appeared to catch an insect in mid-air, about 20' in front of me & my dog, about 6' off the ground. 

I whipped my point & shoot camera out of my pocket and managed to get the great shot above.  After I shot a few frames, you could tell the Kestrel was not happy with me, and moved to a less visible branch even further upslope. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 31, 2011, 9:59 AM.  While the shot is blurry, the Kestrel is sitting on the same branch of a native California Black Walnut Tree as the close-up above.

Right now is a good time for bird watching, since Black Walnuts have dropped their leaves, and all the dead branches have blown out of other trees.  Friday, I had several encounters with small hawks - either Cooper's Hawks or Red-Shouldered Hawks on both Lake View Ave and Corralitas Drive.  Sadly, I had no camera in hand.

Keep those cameras handy and document your Red Car Property neighborhood wildlife encounters. Even if they're not sharp, they tell us a lot about what wildlife lives here. Send your photos to redcarproperty@gmail.com.   

Red Car Property: "Corra Rose," The Red Tailed Hawk

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 8, 2011, 9:47 AM. The familiar Red Tailed Hawk, "Corra Rose" was hunting from the telephone poles on the Red Car Property meadow. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

"Corra Rose," the Red Tailed Hawk, has been around the neighborhood for a few years. Shawnda Thomas Faveau captured the best image of her back in the fall of 2009. Shawnda named her for Corralitas Drive and Rosebud Ave.

Corra has a distinctive pattern of feathers on her chest, and is generally paler in color. Corra is most likely a female because she is a huge hawk. (Female raptors are larger than males.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 8, 2011, 9:46 AM. Arrow points to Corra's perch above the meadow of the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corra has been seen daily in the tops of the tall trees on Corralitas Drive and the 2 Freeway adjacent to Corralitas. In the past few weeks, most mornings, I've seen her making hunting forays onto the Red Car Property from the telephone poles above the meadow. The grass is short, so it's easy to see the gophers and rats when they surface from their dens.

UPDATE: Corralitas Kestrel, January 8, 2011: I saw the Kestrel having breakfast on top of a telephone pole at the highest point of Corralitas Drive. The lighting conditions were not conducive for a photo.

Corralitas Drive: Kestrel Sighting

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 26, 2010, 4:15 PM. Several neighbors and I watched a Kestrel as it kept returning to an Italian Cypress at the top of Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We used to routinely see Kestrels on Corralitas Drive. I have not seen any since 2005. However, this week, I've been seeing Kestrel atop telephone poles and wires as well as the top of my neighbor's Italian Cypress Trees.

Earlier this year a biologist who conducted surveys in the area and Griffith Park, told me Kestrels are becoming rare in the area.

Kestrels are are small falcons; smaller than pigeons. They eat bugs and mice. See better photos of Kestrels in an earlier post.

Birds of prey have been very active in the days after the rain. Send us your Red Car Property Neighborhood wildlife photos: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Wildlife Up Close: American Kestrel

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 29, 2010. Female American Kestrel at the Living Desert. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We frequently get questions from neighbors about birds of prey. It is unlikely you would ever get this close to Kestrels in the neighborhood. These Kestrels are non-releasable rescues residing at the Living Desert in Palm Desert, CA.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 29, 2010. Female Kestrels have more stripes on their back, tail & chest. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Kestrels are the smallest falcons (8 - 12") and are native to the neighborhood. They eat insects. Kestrels are often found perched atop tall trees and on power lines. We used to see them frequently hunting from the power lines going up the Corralitas public staircase and atop trees on the 2 Freeway and Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract.
Photo: Diane Edwardson January 29, 2010. Male Kestrels are more solid colored. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Ingenious Urban Adaptation
Every year a male Kestrel used a neighbor's satellite dish to broadcast his mating call. He would perch on the edge of the 12-foot diameter dish atop Corralitas Drive and call into it, amplifying the sound.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 29, 2010. Compare the female Kestrel, in the foreground, with the male, in the background, handled by trained docents at the Living Desert. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Several years ago, the Kestrels nested on Corralitas Drive. They seemed to be teaching the babies how to fly from the eucalyptus, just below the log cabins, where there is a steep drop to the roadway below.

Sadly, Kestrel sightings have not been frequent since the Red Tail Hawks nested on Corralitas in 2005.

Learn more about Kestrels at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.