It’s fun to have a mascot to rally around. Kamala Harris has a perfect one: Harris’s Hawk.
What makes them so perfect? Well, obviously the name. But more than that, one of the most notable aspects of Harris’s Hawks is that they’re cooperative hunters. In a group that’s mostly known for their solitary existences, Harris’ Hawk find their greatest success by working together and then sharing in the bounty of their labor.
Harris’s Hawks are known for being intelligent and sociable, which makes them popular with falconers. Though they are native to the southwest, many cities have brought them in to help with pest abatement, including New York City. I can think of one New York pest that I’d like to see taken on…
Harris’s Hawk — keeping an eye on the big picture. Photo by Tara McIntire
And it’s not just the common name that's so perfect here. Avian researchers (and many birders) use a four-letter banding code for species based on the common name. The most basic format is: first two letters of the first word and the first two letters of the second word. So for Harris’s Hawk? You got it: HAHA Considering how much Repubs seem to be triggered by Kamala’s joyous laughter, what could be better?
Like other birds named after people, Harris’s Hawk is going to get a new name in the next several years. But guess what? Even the new moniker is likely to be a good fit. Before Audubon gave it this name, they were usually known as the Bay-winged Hawk (for the rusty-maroon patches on its shoulders). For someone born in Oakland, who grew up in Berkeley and began her political career in San Francisco, Bay-winged seems right.
Hawks in general are a good mascot for women candidates. In the raptor world, the females call the shots — they are generally more powerful than the males. And for those who are making an issue about families: Raptors are great parents: they spend a long time with their kids, teaching them how to make their way in the world successfully. And they are documented to step-parent; when one parent is lost, another adult sometimes pairs up with the survivor and helps to raise the young.
Buteo jamaicensis (aka Red-tailed Hawk) is one of our most widespread and diverse birds.
There’s at least one other very popular hawk that can claim some kinship, the Red-tailed Hawk, whose scientific name is Buteo jamaicensis. Found in every state except Hawaii, they thrive in almost any habitat, from big cities to rural areas to wide open wilderness.
No matter who’s VP, we’ll keep our eye on infrastructure!
It’s too bad Cooper took himself out of consideration — we could have had a two-hawk ticket. No matter who the Vice Presidential candidate ends up being, we know we’re got to get out there and stay focused on the goal. We need to be fierce in our advocacy and do whatever is needed to help our candidates soar. Let’s all be Harris’s Hawks — we will work together and that makes us unstoppable!
Together we can win this!
When I first signed up for this date, I had planned to write about a couple of recent trips to Yosemite. Those can wait until another day, but I will close with this photo of Ackerson Meadow.
Ackerson Meadow at sunset. The distant peaks had been ravaged in the 2013 Rim Fire and others. This is just 10 months post-restoration. I can’t wait to see how it develops.
It’s a former ranch which was acquired by the park in 2016. Ranching continued for a several years as a plan for restoration came together. Although it looked like a nice open space, and was helping to sustain a decent mix of birds better than a lot of the surrounding areas, the underlying system was degraded. An erosion channel ran through the middle, draining the land and changing the habitat from willowy wet meadow to drier pasture land.
Initial work on the restoration began a few years ago with extensive removal of invasive plants (my friend spent her volunteer weeks in 2022 and 2023 pulling medusa head in the meadow). Starting last summer, the work got underway on a grand scale. The channel was significantly filled using nearby sources, logs were placed strategically (beaver-dam analogs, aka BDA’s) to slow water flow further. Existing willows were preserved and replanted, along with thousands of new plants. A pond was created along one side, providing habitat for endangered turtles and frogs.
By the time we visited in June, the place had been transformed. What had been limping along — in good enough shape to keep some important stuff going — was now invigorated and flourishing.
It reminds me of some other stories, come to think of it.
Special thanks to my friend Tara McIntire for her drawing and photo. You can find more of her work @tmcintirephoto — well worth a look!
I had a poll, but it didn’t show up, so I’ll just ask the question: Since we won’t have a Cooper on the ticket, who’s your choice for VP?
— Gov Tim Gadwalls
— Gov Josh Sharpie
— Gov Andy Bashearwater
— Sen Lark Kelly
— Sec Pete Buteo
— Let me check my field and get back to you.
