Hawks and Owls (Raptors)
What to do if you find a Hawk or Owl
If you have found a hawk or owl and are in need of immediate help, please click here for information.
How to Coexist with Raptors
- Keep cats and small dogs indoors.
- Hawks are good at keeping the rodent population in check. You can also put up an "owl box" in your backyard to provide a home for some owls to also help reduce the rodent population.
- Drive slowly at night, taking care to look for owls and other wildlife.
- Put a chimney cap or wire mesh over your chimney so owls don't nest there or fledge into your chimney.
- Don't use poison to kill rodents; you may inadvertently kill hawks, owls and other wildlife that prey upon rodents.
- Keep domestic birds inside, avoiding outdoor cages or simply use small gauge wire.
About Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis)
- Adaptable, common, and widespread in almost all habitats in Southern California
- Red-tailed hawks are in the group of birds known as raptors, or birds of prey
- They have a strong, hooked beak
- Typically weighs 2-3 lbs.; with the female nearly 1/3 larger than the male
- Diurnal (Day active)
- Carnivore-eats mostly small rodents, birds and reptiles
- Eyesight is three times better than ours
- A red-tailed hawk can see a mouse ½ a mile away
- Can fly up to 40 mph
- They search for prey by soaring or perching
- Have been known to hover on thermal wind or air currents
- Red-tailed hawks have a hoarse and rasping 2-3 second scream that can be heard while they're soaring
- Scrub jays and other predators sometimes take undefended red-tailed hawk eggs and nestlings
- Great horned owls and golden eagles commonly use old nests of hawks
Red-Tailed Hawks Facts
- In California, state and federal laws protect all raptors
- Because of their inexperience in hunting, juvenile birds may be seen eating road-killed animals
- Hawks may sometimes kill chickens. As a consequence, dead hawks hanging from fences and lying under trees and power poles are mute evidence that shooters, not understanding the economic or aesthetic importance of raptors, or perhaps unaware of protective laws, still kill them indiscriminately.
About the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
- Name derived from tufts of feathers on ears that appear to be "horns"
- Prefers thickly wooded canyons
- Nocturnal (night active) and Crepuscular (dawn and dusk active)
- Females are 10-20% larger than males
- Clutches prey by diving down from high perches
- Prey are usually killed instantly when grasped by the owl's large talons
- Carnivorous; top predator; preying on rodents, rabbits and birds
- A great horned owl can catch prey two to three times heavier than itself
- Eat their prey whole and regurgitate the indigestible parts (bones, fur and feathers)
- Pellets are regurgitated 6 to 10 hours after eating
- Great horned owls have a large repertoire of sounds: from deep hoots to shrill shrieks
- Owls are solitary in nature; only staying with their mate while nesting
- Both males and females incubate their chicks
- There are recorded flying speeds of great horned owls of up to 40 mph
- Great Horned Owls don't build nests of their own; instead, they use the nests of birds and squirrels or find hollows in trees and buildings
Great Horned Owl Facts
- Great Horned Owls are generally shy in nature; that and their ability to adapt enable them to remain fairly common
- Great Horned Owls are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- They occasionally prey on domestic poultry and cats
- Great Horned Owls help to control harmful rodent populations