May 3, 2009 - Hawks and Swans and Geese
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The Red-tailed Hawk is our most widespread hawk in North America. It is a year-round resident in most of the United States and a summer visitor to all of Canada except the far north where there are no trees. It is often seen perching on utility poles along highways. Adults do have a reddish tail but beyond that, they can range from almost white to almost black. Here you see the most common plumage for a Red-tailed Hawk. The dark head, light belly and under side of the wings, and the dark bar on the front edge of the wings are typical. Birders usually refer to the dark streaks on the belly as a belly band. This photo was taken near our home in Northern Minnesota.
On my recent trip to western Minnesota I found this dark phase Red-tailed Hawk sitting on a pole in McLeod County. The red tail is still diagnostic but the dark plumage on the rest of the body could almost make you think you are seeing a different species of bird.
The Trumpeter Swan is the largest swan in the world. They have a wing span of 80” (nearly 7 ft). When one flies right over you, as this one did, you can really see how large these birds are. This photo was taken at the Mud Goose Wildlife Management Area in Northern Minnesota. Trumpeter Swans used to nest over most of North America but they were almost wiped out as the land was settled. By the 1930s, there were fewer that 100 of them left south of Canada. At that time restoration efforts were begun. Thanks to those efforts, populations have rebounded. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources started a program in the 1960s to bring the Trumpeter Swan back to our state. You can read about this effort at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/projects/trumpeterswan/index.html .
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