Harris’s Hawk

The yard is alive in the early mornings this time of year. Refreshed and hungry after a cool night, small birds and mammals and reptiles scurry all over before the sun gets too hot–attracting the occasional large predator like this juvenile Harris’s Hawk.

Harris’s is a true desert bird, breeding and hunting in saguaro forests. It’s also a very tolerant bird, undisturbed by humans and their noisy activities (undisturbed even, we’ve found, by the rambunctiousness of a big Labrador puppy). They nest throughout Tucson, wherever there are tall saguaros and eucalyptuses, and it’s a rare day when one or two don’t drift over our yard on the way to their aerie across the road. It looks like the local breeding group has had good success this year, with the awful screams of juveniles echoing through the neighborhood.