article thumbnail

Patch: An Urban Red-tailed Hawk (2 of 4)

10,000 Birds

(Check out Part 1 here) The city can be a tough place to make a living but San Francisco offers raptors a number of parks, small and large, for them to thrive in. Here Patch sits on a bench watching a pocket gopher tidy up the front of its burrow. The blackbirds had good reason to be cautious. Another strange encounter.

Gophers 193
article thumbnail

Patch: An Urban Red-tailed Hawk (1 of 4)

10,000 Birds

While keeping track of some hummingbirds in Alta Plaza Park in San Francisco, I noticed a shadow slipping over the terraced hillside. The hawk was intent on finding gophers and I used its focus to my advantage and closed the distance gradually. She put up with most of it and then turned the tables on occasion.