Why would circling hawks suddenly appear in a suburban neighborhood?

Question

I have lived here for 4 years and never seen these type of birds, they have been circling around the same area everyday for a week or so. I don't know if they are hawks or falcons, I live in northern California.

Answer 1

Maybe they are Turkey Vultures rather than hawks. Maybe something dead in the area. If it is hawks, it would most likely be Red-tailed Hawks, they are pretty common just about everywhere in the US.

turkey vulture soaring:
http://hiltonpond.org/images/VultureTurkeySoaring01.jpg

red-tailed hawk soaring:
http://www.shutterpoint.com/photos/G/20061103_045235_DSC_02450001_thum.jpg
http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/HawkRedTailedAdult01.jpg

notice the dark leading edge of the wing in the first picture, the Red-tailed Hawk is the only hawk in the US that has that. (for easy ID), unless of course you see it's red tail.

Answer 2

we for some reason (ecological) have had an invasion of rodents. Rats/mice this year and if there are a lot of pigeons they eat them as well. I live in Southern CA and this year we have seen rats. A few of our offices even got them and at my house. I lived here for 30 yrs. and never had this problem and know rats mostly exist, but not to this magnitude. I saw a hawk couple weeks ago near a busy area prey on a pigeon and I've seen them (on the college campus) where I work stalking rats that we may not see but they do. Also I was sitting in my car weeks ago in a somewhat busy area and out of the bush came a rat. Some of this might have to do with us building in the territories/global warming???

Answer 3

Hawks and falcons hunt for live prey. Raptors don't circle looking for carrion. That's vultures.
It depends on what kind of bird you have circling. If they are hawks, they could be mating. They could also be looking for prey, but mostly they do that flying solo.

They could also be nighthawks, which are a different bird. They circle in groups at dusk.

Since humans are destroying habitat for these birds, they move into suburbia all the time, especially falcons. Enjoy watching them! If you do any bird feeding, you could have one come swooping in to get one of the songbirds at your feeders. That has happened to me a couple of times, and it is amazing to see. They are much larger than you would think!

Answer 4

You probably just never saw them before, or maybe they just moved in. Hawks, vultures and falcons all soar. My guess would be Red-tailed Hawks, fairly common across much of N.A. in suburban landscapes, but could be a number of other birds.

Answer 5

These birds of prey are all over the US. Most suburban areas have all kinds of goodies for them to hunt and eat. Don't worry, they are not a bad omen or anything and they most likely are not interested in your dog or cat. In fact, they help keep some rodent populations down. They have probably always been in your area and you might not have noticed them.

Answer 6

It may be a hawk pair or family that has recently expanded into that territory. It is not too unusual to see them in suburbia..we have them all over San Diego County. They follow the food.

Answer 7

Making a circling pattern sounds like turkey vultures, or buzzards as they are commonly called. They do this when they find a dead carcass to feast on.

Answer 8

Eithere there is a dead body or some other potential prey. Check out for the odour in the air.

Answer 9

They could be a vulture like creature & there could be a dead deer or such in the surrounding area. They have a remarkable sense of smell...

Answer 10

maybe there is a fire or dead animals and they are circling ready to feast...them sort of birds hang around fires too because they are waiting for animals to get caught in the fire so they can eat them