Friends of the River Banks (FORB) had a wonderful "Welcome the Swanson's Hawks" event at Sutter's Landing Park on 2nd Saturday this month. Julie Cotton, Asesa Jones, and Bryanna Allen from the Davis Raptor Center brought 2 beautiful captive and unreleasable Swainson's hawks, "Grasshopper" and "Whistler", for us to admire and learn about. Swanson's hawks are back in our area now and they should start nesting soon. We should see babies in about one to one and a half months from now. We learned that Swanson's hawks can migrate as much as 6,000 miles from Alaska to Mexico or Argentina. They have lost much of their breeding grounds to agriculture and we are fortunate in that a 70 mile area around Sacramento is one of 2 areas in Northern California where they come back every year to nest.
We also saw 3 Swanson's hawks circling and vocalizing overhead during our event! These hawks mate for life usually and both parents take care of the young chicks. They have a rapid 6 week growth cycle and then they are ready to fly away until next year.
Thanks to the Davis Raptor Center for making this another great event and all the important work they do. We also want to thank Jude Lamare & Jim Pachl for joining us at this event and for their unending support and work as "Friends of the Swainson's Hawks" to save these raptors and their habitat. Thank you also to "Save the American River Association" (SARA) and the "Sacramento Audubon" chapter for their participation and sponsorship of our event. About 30 people enjoyed a beautiful day and participated in this popular FORB event. Thanks also to Robert for capturing the event in these photos.
We also saw 3 Swanson's hawks circling and vocalizing overhead during our event! These hawks mate for life usually and both parents take care of the young chicks. They have a rapid 6 week growth cycle and then they are ready to fly away until next year.
Thanks to the Davis Raptor Center for making this another great event and all the important work they do. We also want to thank Jude Lamare & Jim Pachl for joining us at this event and for their unending support and work as "Friends of the Swainson's Hawks" to save these raptors and their habitat. Thank you also to "Save the American River Association" (SARA) and the "Sacramento Audubon" chapter for their participation and sponsorship of our event. About 30 people enjoyed a beautiful day and participated in this popular FORB event. Thanks also to Robert for capturing the event in these photos.
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