Red-shouldered Hawk | My Gardener Says…

In February I wrote about the Red-shouldered Hawks who set up housekeeping in our Sycamore tree, adding their particular touches to an abandoned squirrel nest. Sadly, in March, after several days of high winds and the nest torn asunder, the hawks abandoned that tree. I didn’t see the hawks for a few days, but eventually found them busily building another nest in a huge, beautiful Red Oak, Quercus rubra, which grows just around the corner from my street. I guess the hawks chose well as that tree is taller and wider, with dense foliage for protection.

I’ve kept an eye on the hawk happenings, observing their new digs and parent hawk behavior. Typically, mom is on the nest, dad is nearby, serving as a protective sentry with his watchful hawk eyes.

I’ve only caught quick glimpses of fuzzy white chick heads, but never when I’m in possession of either my binoculars or my camera.

On this morning, dad was harassed by a vociferous Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata, off to his left.

Dad hawk looks rather disdainful of the intrusion; he flew to a different branch a minute later, jay in noisy pursuit.

Mom hawk is in the nest, caring for the wee ones, hunkered down in their solidly built oak-leafy nest.

My SIL has been luckier in getting great shots of the hawk family, including this one of the two chicks, fierce-n-fuzzy they are! Look at those darling, terrifying faces!

I’ve been watching the hawks since late March, but only two weeks ago discovered that across the street, situated in a large Live Oak, Quercus virginiana, a family of Yellow-crested Night Herons, Nyctanassa violacea, have also settled in for their chick-raising. Bird neighbors! I’m guessing these two feathery families don’t share meals or coordinate play dates for the kids! I find it fascinating that these two large predator birds are relatively close together and are raising successful families. That said, while both species hunt, they hunt different prey, so there’s probably not much competition for food, at least between the families.

There’s always one adult heron near the nest, and often I see both adults, perched on opposite branches that book-end the large nest of babies in between. In this photo, one adult faces away from my camera, tail feathers and skinny legs in view. The other adult preens, its yellow crown visible in the morning sun.

The oldest chick (presumably) is on the left, the two younger in the nest, cuddled side-by-side.

Here, one adult preens and the three chicks are being chicks. The one on the right is larger than the other two, a little heron head sits in the middle, and a blob of feathery fluff is barely visible on the left side of the nest.

Adult heron and baby heron, each stare in different directions.

Another stunning shot from my SIL! All beaks and eyes, these little critters rock their dinosaur past.

I expect these characters to fledge in the next week or two. They’ll be spotted on rooftops, residents’ cars, and on lawns, and hopefully not in the street. I also hope they’re too big for the hawks to predate, but I’m not so sure about that.

Puffy clouds act as a visual connection between the hawks’ home tree on the right and the herons’ home tree on the left. The street sits just below, bisecting the two properties.

There are at least four other nesting heron families in this part of our neighborhood and in the larger neighborhood area, a nesting family of Red-tailed Hawks, Buteo jamaicensis, and at least one family of Cooper’s Hawks, Astur cooperii, call this area home. Providing for these predatory birds, as well as for multitudes of song birds, wood peckers, finches, mammals, and countless insects is why trees exist. Large native trees are not only beautiful for people to enjoy, but provide life and protection for wild things.

Plant trees, especially native trees, and prune sparingly. Wildlife will cheer!

Sad addendum: we just experienced a strong thunderstorm with high winds, heavy rain, and hail. I walked over to the street where the nests are and I spoke with the young woman who is the owner of the house with the heron nest. The nest is completely gone, a major branch broke that was above the nest. The young woman said she found one nestling dead; she hasn’t seen the other herons. The hawk nest is undamaged. I didn’t see any chicks, but they aren’t always visible. I looked on the lawn and didn’t see any bodies or live birds. The young woman saw one of the adult hawks drying itself.

I continue to observe our local Eastern Screech owl couple when I spend time looking for them at sundown, but I’m now convinced they’ve chosen another spot to raise their family. I’m bummed about that as I was privileged last year to watch the process, from eggs to owls, and hoped to witness again this year. But I wish the adults good hunting, plenty of nourishing food for their young and safe passage for the chicks into adulthood.

In recent weeks I’ve noticed a pair of gorgeous Red-shouldered Hawks, Buteo lineatus around my part of the neighborhood. Soaring high or winging from tree to tree, the pair are graceful; one perched atop tall trees calling to the other is joyous; a male gliding overhead as I walked, landing next to his mate, the two mating, then perching companionably, a treat to see. I wondered if they might choose a neighborhood tree to raise their young. Two mornings ago, as I finished the first walk of the day with Duke the Dog, I noticed one of the hawks, stick in beak, gliding toward the top of my tall American Sycamore tree, where he settled in next to his mate. He spent a minute poking the stick into the nest. So THAT’S where they’re nesting!

It seems they’ve opted for a fixer-upper. These two are squatting in an abandoned squirrel nest, adding their own personal touches to make the nest homey for some little hawks to come. The morning light wasn’t conducive for great shots, but you can clearly see one adult in the nest, the other a few branches below. In fact, that below hawk had a stick in its beak as he flew to the tree, but lost it, somehow, as he landed. He looks annoyed!. Oh well, there are plenty of sticks in the trees.

Here is a little better shot of these beautiful birds. I think it’s the female who perches on the right, her mate is to the left.

Common throughout the eastern parts of the United States, Red-shouldered Hawks are particularly attractive birds. They’re large, but smaller than Red-tailed Hawks. Their wings and tail feathers fan out as they soar, rich red, their signature coloring, on breasts, shoulders, and parts of the underwings. Tails are patterned in light and dark.

The male flew back and forth, between my stately Sycamore and a neighbor’s large Red Oak, breaking off small sticks from the oak to bring to the sycamore nest. He looked clumsy as he flapped and hopped from branch to branch, searching for the perfect stick. I marvel that his huge wings aren’t tangled in the bramble of wood.

Once he had his chosen stick, he winged his way to the sycamore, landed on the nest, and tucked the stick in, just so, to make his nest secure for his chicks. I assume his mate approved, or not, the addition.

I hope this isn’t a trial run on home choice, and that they don’t abandon it for some other real estate, but time will tell and wildlife will do what they do. It’s the end of winter, spring is nearly here, time for new families. It’s with mixed feelings that I know the small mammals, reptiles, and birds are less safe with these two around, but so it goes with nature.