Discover the Flyway from Home – Resources for Teachers, Parents & Students

Red-tailed hawk nesting – web cam

Red-tailed hawks are a common bird of prey in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. You can go out to the Wildlife Area to view them in action. You can also get an up-close look at the behavior of these birds right from your own home, using bird cams, thanks to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Check out the Red-tailed hawk bird cam and FAQ sheet below and then discuss the questions:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/red-tailed-hawks/

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/bird-cams-faq-red-tailed-hawk-nest/

1. What do Red-tailed hawks eat?
2. Who sits on the eggs, the female or male?
3. Why do these birds have the colors and patterns that they have?
4. What does the female do to her eggs with her beak and feet after laying them? Why?

 

 

Answers: 

1. Mainly rodents
2. The female which is the larger of the two
3. For camouflage, to not be seen by their prey and their predators
4. Turns her eggs to check them and keep them consistently warm all around the egg