I didn't intend to post twice on the topic of Bay Area wildlife (of the feathered kind), but we saw this gorgeous Red-tailed Hawk as we passed through Civic Center Plaza. We wouldn't have noticed him or her -- most people didn't -- but for the distinctive raptor sound that echoed across City Hall as we walked below.

There were two hawks swooping around the area, terrifying pigeons and creating a ruckus in the urban bird world. I'm not sure if both were Red-tailed. I only managed to capture this one on the digital.

There have been Red-tailed sightings around San Francisco over the years. The San Francisco Chronicle ran an informative Q&A with wildlife ecologist Joe Drennan (in 2004) -- as he and Hank Pellissier watched some Red-tailed Hawks who'd found a convenient dining spot in the Mission.

Read more about Red-tailed Hawks at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website.

^{Pictured: Red-tailed Hawk perched above Civic Center Plaza
Photo © Ingrid Taylar}