SierraScape April - May 2006
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by Diane DuBois

Who would have guessed that a recent service outing would become a breakfast meeting with a local raptor.

On the morning of March 4, five Sierrans brought rakes and loppers to the Sierra Club prairie plot at Highway 40 and Lindbergh Boulevard. The task was to get the prairie ready for spring by cutting and raking last year's growth.

Much to our surprise, Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk) joined our group. He swooped down from a tall tree, landing next to a tiny hole in the dirt. He grabbed a creature from its burrow and flew back to the treetop.

This was a three-mole breakfast for Buteo. In the span of 10 minutes, the hawk swooped down among us three times. Each time he harvested a mole from a different place in the prairie. We were awed. Predator-prey, the web of life, the habitat message. It all came together for us, right before our (near-sighted) eyes.

You, too, can have a breakfast meeting with a new friend. Choose from the list of outings. Adventure awaits.