Urban Birds Part Three

A Great Blue Heron on alert at Crissy Field with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

This isn't a paid advertisement... just a striking convergence of flying objects.

A young Redtail finds a convenient perch for gopher hunting.

Another Redtail sees something tasty in the grass and fully commits.

Bumper to bumper traffic. Watching a Redtail cruising along the road at an altitude of three feet always makes me nervous... but they don't seem to mind.

As we leave the city and close the Urban Birds series... we see a Peregrine perched on the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Urban Birds Part Two

Close encounters can happen almost anywhere in San Francisco.

As a photographer I'm happy and amazed at how comfortable some birds get in an urban setting. In the countryside it is a simple matter to relocate but the city offers limited green space and the birds learn to figure out what the real threats are.

Alta Plaza Park used to be a great spot to see hunting hawks up close but I think things have changed. It used to have a resident Redtail every year but I haven't seen one lately.

Departure.

Arrival.

This image may be a repost but it fits with the theme and is one of my favorites. This is a Red-shouldered Hawk hunting rats in the Presidio.

It isn't just raptors that reside in the city. Great Blue Herons are another "bird of prey" that make a living here too. (CLICK HERE) More tomorrow...

Urban Birds Part One

A Red-tailed Hawk with blatant disregard for signage.

Another young Redtail cruising along the Great Highway near Ocean Beach, San Francisco.

This Redtail supplements his diet with sidewalk worms after a rainstorm... but it takes a little searching.

And sometimes you have to run to catch a worm before it makes it back to the grass.

Floating over a roadway while scanning for careless gophers in the ditches.

This Redtail navigates buildings in the Pacific Heights neighborhood as it hunts.

Traffic is another hazard of city living but this bird handles it with aplomb.

This hawk hunts the slopes of Bernal Hill with the skyline as a backdrop. More urban birds tomorrow... stay tuned.

Urban Birds (Sneak Peek)

I'm going to start a three-part series on urban birds tomorrow. Here is a preview, a Cooper's Hawk in San Francisco, waiting on the 21.