A red-tailed hawk soars in a blue sky over Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Susanne De Montreuil
February 23, 2024 - 7:00 AM
Photographers in Kamloops and the Okanagan snapped some impressive photos of hawks flying, posing and hunting this winter.
The birds of prey are often seen hunting and eating other birds, small mammals, snakes and frogs using their sharp beaks and big talons. They can see ultraviolet light, which helps them hunt down their prey.
There are ten different species of hawk that live in the province, some of which go south for the winter while others stick around.
Area photographers captured some different species on camera recently including a red-tailed hawk, cooper’s hawk and sharp-shinned hawk.
The most common hawk in BC is the red-tailed hawk that migrates from most of the province in the winter but stays in the south of the province near Vancouver and Kamloops, according to Bird Advisors.
The red feathers can be seen on this red-tailed hawk sitting on a fence near Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lucas Cain
The birds have a short red tail and are usually brown on the back and pale in colour underneath. They can be spotted flying in circles over fields looking for prey or perched on telephone poles, and build their nests in tall trees or on cliff ledges.
Another common hawk is the cooper’s hawk that also migrates in winter from most of the province but stays year-round in areas near Vancouver and Kelowna.
Cooper’s hawks look similar to sharp-shinned hawks but are a bit bigger. It can be difficult to tell the difference between them because the both have the blue-grey coloured backs and reddish orange-coloured chests. They are found on the edge of forests and nest in tall trees.
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Some sharp-shinned hawks migrate south during the winter but some stay in the west of the province. The birds can be spotted flying above open areas on the edge of forests and are known to speed through dense woods to catch their prey in flight.
If you have photos of hawks from this winter and want to share them, send them to news@infonews.ca.
Cooper's hawks have blue-gray coloured backs as seen in this photo of a cooper's hawk in Oliver.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Shirley Sobkow
A sharp-shinned hawk spotted near Chase.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Ann Steenhuysen
A red-tailed hawk soars through the sky over Logan Lake.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Loekie Vanderwal
This bird was captured on camera near Kamloops eating its kill.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
A sharp-shinned hawk in Penticton.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lilian Blashko
A sharp-shinned hawk spotted in Kelowna.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Hollie Lorentz
This sharp-shinned hawk in Kamloops is eating prey.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Arwen Veronica Shulte
This juvenile sharp-shinned hawk was spotted in Osoyoos.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Les W. Dewar
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News from © iNFOnews, 2024