Category: Capay Valley

I was birding in Capay Valley today (exact location undisclosed because I was allowed on private property), and I got to watch one hawk pursue another while flying because one of them caught what appeared to be a mouse or small rodent and wanted it. The pursuit was interesting to watch as the drama unfolded in the sky. The pursuer never caught the hawk with the rodent before it was lost to sight, but there was a lot of bobbing and weaving and sudden turns from the hawk that had the meal. Those little dogfights are fun to watch. I could not determine what type of hawks they were because the sky was overcast, and they appeared almost as dark silhouettes in the sky without any color. More than likely, they were Red-Shouldered Hawks, as I was able to identify one a little later in the area, but I can’t be sure that is what they were.