Red-shouldered Hawk pairs chapter 3
Two mating pairs of Red-shouldered hawks
Text and photos by Heather Cline
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
If you are reading this post but haven't seen the previous chapters, you can check them out using the links above.
This post is intended to provide some updates on what I have seen since Chapter 2 was published.
One thing I have meant to do since the beginning was to publish a 'formal' portrait of each bird, so I've started off today's update with those. Click on any image in this post for a larger view.
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Anastasia (Ana) |
Aston |
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Beatrice (Bea) |
Bertrand (Bert) |
Astor and Anastasia
It's official, Ana is incubating eggs! I had a gap of 11 days that I didn't see them while I was out of town and she laid them sometime in that timeframe. The incubation period is 32-40 days, so I'm predicting the eggs will hatch sometime between April 13th and May 2nd. Their nest is way too high for me to see their eggs, but based on a quick internet search, they typically lay 2-5 eggs that are 'dull white or faint bluish with brown blotches and markings'.
Although I have seen Ana and Aston, I struggle to see them as consistently as Bea and Bert. This is one of the rare times I got a good view of Ana in her nest. Once they sit on their eggs, they actually lay pretty flat so most of the time, I am lucky to see the top of her head or her tail.
Once they lay eggs, the action kind of slows down too. They aren't going back and forth to get nesting material (as much) and they aren't mating so spotting them, especially together, is kind of 'luck of the draw'. Every time I go by for a visit, I hope that I'll catch them doing a nest exchange. When one bird is relieved from their shift, they often go to a branch to preen and stretch their feet and wings. I can imagine how good that feels after sitting in one spot for hours.
Bertrand and Beatrice
Bea is also on her nest and it appears he laid her eggs during the same timeframe, so I'm watching the calendar for April 13th through May 2nd. This is one last look at Bea and Bert together during one of their mating encounters. As you can see, we are still getting plenty of yucky gray days.
Although they don't gather much nesting material once the eggs are laid, I was lucky enough to catch Bert gathering some leaves for the nest. Look at the sequence below to see how he skillfully transfers the leaves from his beak to his talons.
 Chapter 3, Beatrice or Bert
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 Chapter 3, Beatrice or Bert
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 Chapter 3, Beatrice or Bert
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 Chapter 3, Beatrice or Bert
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Nice job, Bert!
I have also been fortunate enough to capture him either catching and/or eating a meal a couple times. He seems to prefer mice. The first time, I saw him eating at distant branch.
But a couple days ago, I got to see him catch a meal, then call for Bea. She promptly left the nest to meet him at a tree, then he went back to the nest, leaving her in the tree with breakfast. She was famished!
I expect the next 10-30 days to be a lot of the same so I'm doing my best to catch them doing nest exchanges and hunting. Getting some flight shots and poses are nice too!
Stay tuned for Chapter 4! To see the full gallery of images, click here.
