Red-shouldered Hawk re-nest turned into something else

[moss]

The raptor nesting season should be slowing down soon, until then the beat goes on.

I was called in to a Franklin, Massachusetts site to put two young red-shouldered hawks back in their nest. They'd gone to the ground a week before and were thin and unable to fly. A local rehaber stuffed them with food and buffed them up. The day I climbed the white pine pollen was unbelievable, every time the wind blew it was a yellow/green fog, no joke. White pine pollen is not allergenic, the pollen is too large to interact with the human immune system but it will choke you like heavy dust. I edited out the parts where I was coughing and spitting ;-)

-AJ

 

[Basswood]

So awesome. You ever get bit? Momma ever get upset?

 

[moss]

So awesome. You ever get bit? Momma ever get upset?

So far no. Most raptors including Bald Eagle will stand off, just ask @Steve Connally ;-) The accipiter family of raptors are notorious for attacking humans who get near nests. The Northern Goshawk (our largest North American accipiter) is most feared, it will mess you up given a chance. The Cooper's Hawk is known to be totally insane and will do what it can to move you away from its nest. Sharp-shinned Hawk the smallest accipiter is probably the same, just a smaller package of homicidal tendencies.
-AJ

 

[JeffGu]

Sharp-shinned Hawk...

We had one that for two summers hung around our house, grabbing birds (mostly finches and sparrows) off of the bird feeder. We'd watch him from the kitchen window. It's all over quickly... a poof of feathers, and less than a minute later he would have it devoured except for most of the flight feathers, sometimes he'd leave a wing or a foot. He could see us clearly, but didn't seem the least bit concerned. He would take one to three birds over the span of about a half hour. After that, the birds wouldn't come back and he'd go looking elsewhere. Sitting on the front porch one day last year, we watched him terrorize a squirrel on the power lines. Poor squirrel was hiding behind a telephone pole, with the hawk parked on the other side about six feet away. The hawk eventually spotted a flock of sparrows further down the alley and took off after them. We couldn't help but laugh. Poor squirrel took off down the wire the other direction, and I'm pretty sure he was saying, "Shit, shit, shit... feets don't fail me now!" We had no idea they would try to take on something the size of a squirrel. They probably weigh about half what a squirrel does.

They're beautiful little hawks. To see one just three feet away from the window was amazing. The birds would see him coming, but wouldn't get more than a couple feet or so from the feeder. You could see him single out a bird and adjust his flight accordingly in a split second. It would startle us every time. He probably thinks his name is Holy Shit!

 

[27RMT0N]

We had one that for two summers hung around our house, grabbing birds (mostly finches and sparrows) off of the bird feeder. We'd watch him from the kitchen window. It's all over quickly... a poof of feathers, and less than a minute later he would have it devoured except for most of the flight feathers, sometimes he'd leave a wing or a foot.

Hawks are pretty amazing eh? Happens all the time at my place, here are some photos from one at my feeder a while back. I feed the birds, hawks feed on the birds I feed. I guess that's the circle of life.

 

[JeffGu]

Hawks are pretty amazing eh?

When I see raptors from fairly close up, I'm always impressed by how badass they are... you look one in the eye and you just know that you're more impressed with him, than he is with you.