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Wesley's Backyard Birds
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| These are poor photos, as with many of my photos of hawks with them soaring high, of a Swainson's Hawk. These were taken on different days. The dark-morph landed on the pole right outside my office window. During breeding and summer months the Swainson's Hawk are live in the western parts of Canada and West-Midwest parts of the United States. During winter they migrate in a narrow band all the way to the south portion of South America in Argentina; traveling around 6200 miles. Swainson's Hawk has one of the longest migrations of any American raptor. Only tundra breeding Peregrine Falcons travel farther. When migrating they congregate in tremendous numbers during migration. Foraging and migrating flocks sometimes number into the thousands. Swainson's Hawk chicks frequently kill and eat the youngest nestlings. The killing of siblings may be related to food availability, but the ultimate cause is unknown. The use of pesticides in Argentina was responsible for the deaths of nearly 6,000 Swainson's Hawks in 1995 and 1996. Size: 19-22 inches; Wingspan: 4 - 4-1/2 foot |
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| Swainson's Hawk | ||||||
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| Swainson's Hawk - Dark Morph | ||||||
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| Swainson's Hawk - Intermediate Morph | ||||||
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