The Red Tailed Hawk ranges all the way from North Alaska to as far south as Panama, 
as they move from place to place seeking more productive hunting. They will also fly to southern locations during the colder months even though they do not follow all the characteristics of true migration. According to Desert USA, Red Tailed hawks vary in weight from two to four pounds and average about twenty-two inches long, with a wingspan of fifty-six inches. They mate in the Springtime and lay from one to three eggs. They live from ten to twenty-one years and eat mostly small rodents and snakes.
All throughout recorded history raptors, or birds of pray, have been both despised and honored. They have been ruthlessly destroyed by humans who believe they compete for wild game and domesticated animals. Hawk’s talons are its main weapons and they are actually members of the buzzard family. Their eyesight is eight times more powerful than that of humans and they have a rasping scream that can be heard most often, when they are soaring. In recent years we have come to appreciate these awesome birds and have developed a greater compassion for their place in the natural environment.
A Keen Eye
The Red Tailed Hawk is usually found in grasslands but is very adaptable, being equally at home in deserts and woodlands. They soar, rather then fly at high altitudes, using keen eyesight to spot the smallest movement on the ground. Hiking along the trail to Montezuma Well, it’s easy to spot the Red Tailed Hawk circling the area, watching and waiting for their supper to arrive on the ground below. Many American Indians believe Hawk is a sacred messenger, who watches us and takes information back and forth from the Creator to us human beings. Their remarkable characteristics exemplify visionary power and guardianship to the minds of some of Hawk’s observers. Native people usually find them to be intriguing and mystical by nature. Their hunting ability, eyesight and strong flight are dynamic symbols. Wings and feathers from hawks are often used in healing ceremonies.
Hawks mate for life and that fact sets a high standard for us humans who so often divorce when we hit a rough patch. Creatures found in the wilderness are considered by many indigenous people to be provided to us by Creation, as teachers of the natural harmony of things. As we watch them move around and among humanity we learn more about ourselves and each other and about the natural instincts we were given to help us survive. The wild creatures like Hawk, remind us not to allow our instincts to go awry, unchecked and out of harmony with the divine order of nature.
Watchers
What do the Red Tailed Hawks think when they see us moving through and around their world? Are they critical? If they could evaluate us and comment, what would they say? What would they report back to the Creator? Would they be proud of us that we are more conscientious of protecting our natural world, then we as a species, have ever been before?
What would an outside observer have to say about the Legacy Projects we are doing to celebrate the Arizona State Centennial or our developing a relationship of interaction with the local schools or other community-building organizations? As the Beaver Creek communities continue to grow and improve, we become an integral aspect of the evolving history of the state, the country and the world. It’s small grassroots communities, like us who may be able to encourage others to listen to the ancientness of the land and speak from the serenity of our natural environment, towards a more positive future for us all.
