3 thoughts on “January 28 – February 3, 2019 Kaw Valley Almanac”
Hi, My wife and I look forward to the Almanac each week. We live in rural Osage County and enjoy being outside. This year we have not seen the usual number of hawks. In fact we have seen none at all for over a week now. We are curious about what’s going on. Are we just not noticing them? Have they gone somewhere else? Is there a massive shortage of small rodents this season? Are other predators out-competing them? Have others noticed the same thing? We would appreciate hearing more about this mysterious absence. Thanks!
You’re not the only one who has noticed this. Here’s a quote from a birder posted yesterday on the KSBirds listserv:
“I travel the state pretty frequently, and enjoy counting raptors on all of
my adventures. This 4 hour trip yielded 11 Bald Eagles (higher than typical
for me on this route), only 16 Red-tailed Hawks (much lower than typical),
2 Red-shouldered Hawks, 9 American Kestrels, and a total of 42 Northern
Harriers. They were apparently enjoying the high winds today. Seems like
this winter I’ve seen more male harriers than I have in years past.”
My guess is that hawks follow the waterfowl to a good extent, and with ice on area reservoirs, many waterfowl have flown further south. Apparently hawks don’t like to compete with the eagles, who are concentrated around what open water there is.
Kaw Valley Almanac 
Hi, My wife and I look forward to the Almanac each week. We live in rural Osage County and enjoy being outside. This year we have not seen the usual number of hawks. In fact we have seen none at all for over a week now. We are curious about what’s going on. Are we just not noticing them? Have they gone somewhere else? Is there a massive shortage of small rodents this season? Are other predators out-competing them? Have others noticed the same thing? We would appreciate hearing more about this mysterious absence. Thanks!
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You’re not the only one who has noticed this. Here’s a quote from a birder posted yesterday on the KSBirds listserv:
“I travel the state pretty frequently, and enjoy counting raptors on all of
my adventures. This 4 hour trip yielded 11 Bald Eagles (higher than typical
for me on this route), only 16 Red-tailed Hawks (much lower than typical),
2 Red-shouldered Hawks, 9 American Kestrels, and a total of 42 Northern
Harriers. They were apparently enjoying the high winds today. Seems like
this winter I’ve seen more male harriers than I have in years past.”
My guess is that hawks follow the waterfowl to a good extent, and with ice on area reservoirs, many waterfowl have flown further south. Apparently hawks don’t like to compete with the eagles, who are concentrated around what open water there is.
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Thanks. Informative.
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