Red-Tail Hawks

When I started thinking about this entry, I planned on telling you that I hadn't noticed any nesting activity among our local red-tail hawks.  Now I'm not so sure. While I haven't actually caught the hawks working on their nest, They are sticking pretty close together.

In the photo above, the couple is perched just to the right and above their nest

While each has been noticed perched close to their nest, before Sunday, I had only seen the birds individually. 

 Red-tail hawks are mostly monogamous.  For hawks, nesting is an important part of a couple's bonding. It is called "twigging." Observers have noted that a pair seems to take part in the nest building process because they enjoy it.  While I suspect there is more to the activity than mere enjoyment,  it is something nesting pairs do even when they have already chosen to re-use a nest. 

Each winter a pair re-chooses their nest site, often reusing a nest from the previous spring though sometimes picking a new site to raise their offspring. Some birds will half-heartedly twig on a new nest even when they have apparently already chosen to use their old site.  

This particular nest has been used at least the past three summers.  It could have been used before that, but I had been too busy to notice. Last year they raised two eyasses (young hawks). If you would like to read about them, just click on this link. Redtail Babies  I am really hoping they have another successful year.  

Stay tuned as I will continue to check the nest

   

Birds Among the Flowers

It was a busy morning for the pair of Blue-gray gnatcatchers we caught building their nest at the edge of a small farm field.  The branch they chose is dying but hopefully still strong enough to hold their nest through summer winds.  Each bird kept watch on our group as it worked on construction. I've made the photos extra large so that you can see them better but also causing them to stretch beyond the right edge of my blog. Try to ignore the words printed over the edge.  This is a formatting glitch of Blogger. Maybe it will be fixed by the time you are reading this.

This Red-tail hawk delighted us as it circled overhead several times.  One of our Mountwood birders who had surveyed the road earlier had noticed a red-tail's nest just up the road.  We surmised that it might belong to this particular hawk. On each turn that tell-tail shone unmistakably red as it caught the sun.

Sure enough, a bit up the road was a nest that could have belonged to our hawk. The nest rested on a horizontal limb of a sycamore tree unlike most nests that are wedged into a forked tree trunk.  When we stopped a bit further up the road an agitated red-tail flew over us screaming and circling.  We thought it might be the same hawk since we were so close to the last sighting. Perhaps it was the first hawk's mate. Soon, a red-shouldered hawk flew over screaming its distinctive call, obviously disturbing the red-tail.

Yesterday I told you about the Louisiana waterthrush that hijacked our car as it escaped identification for about forty-five minutes. Four pair of binoculars proved to be too much as the bird finally became part of the day's life-list.

Our group left Newell's Run then drove back down along the Ohio River on our way back home.  We made just two more stops.  One for this  Great egret

and a last stop to view a Bald eagle that was flying overhead.  Susan, our driver quickly pulled her car to the shoulder as we piled out of the car, binoculars in hand. It was an immature male bale eagle. He did not yet have the distinctive white feathers on his head. As we watched the eagle disappear over the ridge we were joined by the Ohio Highway Patrol who actually just wanted to know if we needed any help.  The officer smiled and drove on once we pointed out the eagle.  She may be used to birdwatchers along her route as we were just up the river from an osprey nest. Without a scope, we chose to ignore the osprey nest.  It was time to go home and return to other responsibilities awaiting at home or elsewhere.

Preparing for the Storm

I didn't have much time for walking yesterday.  We have a snow storm coming so, like the rest of humanity I headed to the grocery store to beat the storm.  That didn't work out so well considering the mass of people in the store but that is a story for someplace else.  On the way down our drive, I decided to check out the next of our local red-tail hawk pair. I was thrilled to see one of the pair perched atop the nest.

Another blog that I follow has been discussing the actions of a pair of hawks in New York City as they appear to be building a new nest.  According  to that blog hawks often stick to one nest though they might build a secondary nest before laying eggs. These birders aren't sure why, but think the reason may be to give the female a choice or just as a bonding ritual. Sometimes the pair will desert the first nest in favor of the second. Very soon it will be time for our hawks to be nesting if not already.  This hawk was very busy flying  away from the nest and back.  While I didn't see it carrying any twigs, that may be what was going on.

I don't know how to differentiate the male from the female so I don't know which this is.  Both sexes take part in "twigging,"  the building of the nest.

When the hawk returned to the nest it perched on the side then bent over, putting its head deep into the nest.  I am zoomed in as far as my camera will go, making it hard for me to keep the lense settled on the bird.  It also makes it hard for me to watch the bird outside of the camera lense but I did get in a few shots of the hawk at work.  The photo below shows the hawk, on the left, leaning down into the nest.  Look carefully to see the hawk that is well camouflaged.  I wonder now if the hawk is also preparing its home for the upcomning storm. While I cannot see a television antenna above the nest, I'm convinced that the birds know when a storm is coming; perhaps as well as I do.

 I will search for a better spot to photograph the birds so that we can see some photos as they sit eggs and raise some young.  This will be at least the third summer for this particular pair to nest at this site.

The hawk seems to be observing me as I observe it.  I don't stay long and soon head to the store to refill my own nest.