The red-tailed hawk is probably Highland Park's most common big raptor, but "common" is not a very accurate word for any hawk. It's the nature of predator-prey systems that it takes a lot of prey (in this case small rodents and sometimes birds) to support a much smaller number of predators. So what a red-tailed hawk needs is big expanses of field and the creatures that live in them--not something you expect to find in cities, but here we are with red-tailed hawks not just visiting but apparently nesting. The best place to spot them seems to be Donaldson Park and the adjacent Meadows, with the WCTC tower a favorite perch. One can sometimes be found at the Native Plant Reserve, too.
Photo: Gabi Grunstein 2006.
