Red-tailed Hawks Nesting on High Power Tower

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Eyas photos by Larry Jordan

I’ve been chronicling this pair of Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and submitting their breeding records to Cornell Lab for the last four years. Last year was not so good as the pair hatched two eyas and lost them after a huge storm in late May. I never saw them at the nest after that storm and I guess I’ll never know what happened. You can see the last photos and video I took of them with the male bringing a snake back to the nest for mama hawk’s dinner.

This day, the hawks were very vigilant as they were both near the tower where they built the new nest last year. Here’s mama on the old nest across the tower from the eyas.

And dad above her at the top of the tower.

Just a few weeks ago, there were two eyas in the nest and now there is one. I have no idea what happened to the other chick but it looks like they will have an easier time with the single eyas this year.

As you can see from the video, these photos are digiscoped from quite a distance

As the female perched on the old nest like a statue, the adult male was quite active and vocal, calling from nearby trees and towers. Here he is wondering what this Bullock’s Oriole is doing in his territory.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a Red-tailed Hawk webcam with awesome videos you can see at their channel. I have embedded this one showing two eyas being fed and the third egg being pipped.

For more great bird photos from around the world, check out World Bird Wednesday!