These raptors are easy to identify because of their flight patterns–they fly very low over fields, looking for ground squirrels, rabbits, and an occasional meadowlark. They have also been known to take down animals as varied as a snow goose and a frog. Formerly called the marsh hawk, they breed mostly in wetlands, which are rare in New Mexico except for the irrigation drains and ditches. I see only one or two of these birds a year flying low over the alfalfa farm that I walk around.
