This is bird note.

driving the freeway, perhaps just inching along in traffic, you happen to glance up to an overhead light post where a large hawk sits in plain view.

It's brown, somewhat modeled, a small head and short tail make it appear football shaped.

It's a red-tailed hawk.

During winter, many red-tailed hawks move south,

joining year-round resident pairs to feed on mice,

voles, and other small mammals.

The Freeway's wide center medians and mowed shoulders offer a mini habitat of open grassland where the red tail hawks watch for prey.

And the light posts of telephone poles and nearby trees offer excellent viewing perches. The red tail of the red tail may be hard to

see since folded wings often cover it. If your view is of the bird's front, watch for a dark belly band across the lower part of a pale chest.

If your view is of the back, try to observe a white-spotted V in the center of the back. You'll see the red tail when it flies.

Perhaps a bit of freeway bird watching may ease the frustration of slow traffic,

so watch for this bulky football of a hawk. Once Redtails find a successful hunting area, they return often.

For Bird Note, I'm Mary McCann.

Bird Note gives you'm Mary McCann.

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