Salado Creek Foundation

Raptors of Salado Creek

Look Up and Learn!

Falcons, hawks, eagles, vultures, and owls are all raptors, or birds of prey. The word "raptor" comes from the Latin "rapere," which means to seize or grasp with sharp curved talons.

These masters of the sky play an important role in the natural world. For example, vultures eat dead animals, which helps control disease. Owls prey upon rats and mice that destroy crops. Hawks help keep snake populations in balance.

Because the Salado Creek watershed is home to many plant and animal species, it is a good place to see different kinds of raptors.

Red-tailed hawks hunt by day. Their keen eyesight helps them detect the movement of a mouse in the grass as far as two kilometers - more than a mile - away. In flight its broad wings span about four feet, and the adults have a rounded, brick-red tail.

The tail of the Red-shouldered hawk has alternating bands of brown and white. This beautiful species likes to live near the Salado because it eats small mammals, amphibians, crayfish, and reptiles. It can be easily identified by its distinctive call, "Kee-aah."

Some people call the Crested Caracara the Mexican Eagle. This large bird looks like it is wearing a dark toupee on its white head. This carrion (dead animal) eater spends much of its time on the ground and it is usually found scavenging road kill, but it will also eat live mice and snakes.

Two other species that prefer carrion are the Turkey Vulture and the Black Vulture. Both of these shy raptors nest on the ground, laying their eggs among rocks and logs. They can be seen high over the creek, soaring smoothly, flapping their large wings only occasionally.

One of the most colorful species of falcons is the American Kestrel, formerly known as the Sparrow Hawk. This small, versatile flier can be seen on power lines and posts, where it scans for grasshoppers, dragonflies and mice. Males have blue wings while females have red wings, and both sexes have reddish and blue crowns.

The Barn Owl works the night shift. It is a nocturnal hunter with soft feathers adapted for noiseless flight. These well camouflaged creatures with white heart-shaped faces have great vision in low light, but their extremely sensitive hearing also helps them detect the footsteps of tiny night creepers. One Barn Owl can eat about 2,500 mice in a year.

Great Horned Owls have soft tufts of feathers that look like horns. These feather horns look like broken branches, which may help hide the owl. People say the call of this silent flyer sounds like, "You hoo, who cooks for you?" These night hunters like to eat birds, fish and mammals but they also do an important job preying on skunks which can carry the rabies virus.

All these raptors are an important part of nature’s sensitive web of life. When humans help make their habitat on the Salado Creek safe and secure, we are also protecting ourselves, for we are a part of the same ecosystem.

What We've Learned

After you've read the story read each question. Choose the best answer to the question. Mark the space for the answer you have chosen.

In this story the word "raptor" means

0 one who raps

0 a dinosaur

0 to seize or grasp

0 dead animal

Many types of raptors are found at Salado Creek because there are

0 people who feed them

0 rules against hunting

0 lots of good things to eat

0 pretty places

Red-tailed hawks can see a mouse

0 that is more than one mile away

0 that is limping

0 because it is brightly colored

0 only when it moves

The tail of the Red-shouldered hawk is

0 red

0 narrow

0 pointed

0 brown and white

The word "carrion" means

0 dead animal

0 alternating bands

0 to carry on

0 scavenging

Vultures like to nest

0 near humans

0 in the tops of trees

0 on the ground

0 at the water's edge

Another name for the American Kestrel is

0 Sparrow Hawk

0 Mexican Eagle

0 nocturnal hunter

0 Blue-winged Hawk

Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls

0 hunt at night

0 fly silently

0 blend in with their habitat

0 all of the above

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