Trouble standing on the edge of nest
Today there was a lot of excitement on the nest. Started off very worried because no one had seen the male red-tail hawk for a long time. Finally at lunch I went down stair with my binoculars and just stood there to watch. The female was leaning against the tree having just fed the young ones. She then flew off the nest - she was very restless. (Earlier she had been jumping from branch to branch). Now she flew off to the construction site and around the building. I asked a couple of guys who work outside if they had seen the two hawks and they said no. All of a sudden from behind the huge building cranes one hawk comes flying and then the guys yells here comes another. The female lands and starts screaming. The males lands and she is screaming at him. This goes on and on and on. (I have seen this behaviour with the two of them before). The female flies off and so does the male. The female chases after the male and they both go back to the nest and again she starts to scream at him. This is not your normal red-tail sounds. The female takes off again - she flies south. The male settles down on the nest for a very short time. Off to my right I see the female being chased by a crow. She loses him. The male having done is duty for a good 5 minutes takes off to the construction site and is gone again. lol. Within 15 minutes the female returns (with no food) and settles on the young. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Now there was some great flying and some great red-tail screaming and can you believe it I did not have my camera as they said rain all day. Here it was a beautiful sunny day. I enjoyed it all but I have to say the male is one lazy red-tail. The female has her work cut out with him.
On my way out to a program I saw an amazing site. The female was feeding the young. Yes I saw two little white head lift up to get the food. The sun was shinning really bright so who knows there may be more but there are at least two eyas. She was doing the feeding for a good 15 minutes then settled down again.
After work I went home to grab my camera hoping to get a shot of the babies but the sky was too dark. The female was feeding the young and her head was bobbing in two directions which confirms at least two babies. I did notice the female was having a hard time standing on the edge of the nest. In one photo you will see her with one leg in the air. This happened a few times. Within a few days we will be able to see the babies easier.
Fun on the red-tail nest.
