lcrane's Journal

Some interesting recent spots!

Wellesley College’s campus features alternating wooded areas and open spaces, making ideal habitat for the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), a striking raptor that many human members of the College community have spotted this Fall.

Red-tailed hawks are birds of prey, and hunt not by hovering and soaring in the air, but rather by perching on branches and swooping down to ground level to capture prey such as mice, voles, squirrels, and chipmunks. They are one of the largest hawks in North America, and also one of the most widespread and common. Here at Wellesley, red-tailed hawks enjoy perching in tall trees that surround open spaces, where they can easily spot prey even from 100 feet above ground level.

October 30th, 2019

Emma Andrews ‘23 was walking back to her dorm after a shift at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens when she found herself approaching a young red-tailed hawk perched on a low tree branch right by the Silver Thread Brook - the small stream that feeds Paramecium Pond. She realized the hawk had just captured a small rodent, most likely a vole, and watched it as it munched on its morning catch. She managed to get a mere 4 meters from the hawk before it became wary and flew, with its meal, to a nearby tree.

Emma recounts her experience witnessing this striking wildlife interaction:

“it was unusual yet very cool to be in such close proximity to a hawk... I occasionally hear the distant screech of a hawk at Wellesley, but hadn’t ever been so close! Just a beautiful reminder of how much life this campus hosts.”

Emma Andrews '23 spotted a red-tailed hawk after it had recently captured a small rodent

November 8th, 2019

Midafternoon, two red-tailed hawks perched above the Science Center Meadow on horizontal branches of two trees that frame the meadow, most likely looking for prey. One, perched just some 10 feet from the ground, may have been slightly distracted by curious human onlookers, though it was surprisingly stoic and un-spooked. Red-tailed hawks’ relative tolerance for humans is one trait that makes the species so adaptable— so much so that the species’ population is actually increasing overall.

A red-tailed hawk perches on a tree branch by the Science Center Meadow

Red-tailed hawks are incredible predators that likely help keep Wellesley’s burgeoning small rodent population in check. Although there has been a sudden uptick in red-tailed hawk sightings at Wellesley on iNaturalist, this may have also coincided with the loss of leaves from deciduous trees making the perching hawks much more visible to passerbys. Red-tailed hawks can be spotted at Wellesley year-round. Whatever it may be, red-tailed hawks are welcome additions to Wellesley’s campus, bringing balance to the landscape’s ecosystems.

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Welcome to the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative Biodiversity Project! This is our first news post, and we plan on continuing to feature diverse wildlife and plants, as well as interesting nature details, in the future!