Immature Red-Shouldered Hawk on the Ground

Saturday morning, early spring. The usual songbirds at the feeders and on the ground. But at the opposite side of the Habitat, an immature red-shouldered hawk is on the ground. Why? No a clue, three times he came down from a maple tree branch less than ten feet up. Clearly, no mouse, no small bird. Nothing. He cries a few times; he clearly observes me as I approach and get to within 35 feet from him. Cleck to see an enlarged photo.
Then, the young hawk seeks altitude in the sky and is joined by an older red shouldered. They scream loudly as they fly around and through a number of pine trees, then fly upward and perched about 50 feet in an oak tree. eNature says, “Normally shy, [the red-shouldered hawks] become tame if they are not persecuted and in some places may nest in suburban areas. During courtship a pair can be quite noisy, wheeling in the sky above their nesting territory and uttering their distinctive whistled scream.” Are these two parent and child? Or, are they a possible mating pair?
The trees in the Colvin Run Habitat provide cover and draw many birds, including the hawks. The trees, however, remain one of the greatest challenges to photographing any of the birds. The autofocus of the digital camera does not differentiate between tree branches in the foreground and hawks in the background. Focus, whether automatic or manual, becomes even more challenging with the telephoto zoom lens that I am using. I should stop complaining - in six weeks, the leaves will be back and none of these photos will be possible.
As the immature red-shouldered left the ground I got the last photo. The inclusion of the two trees in the photo allows me to get a good estimate of the raptor’s wingspan. The distance between the two trees on the right and on the left of the photo is eight feet. That makes the hawk’s wingspan at least four feet.

Cardinals Join Habitat Olympic Team

I mentioned previously that the Colvin Run Habitat would have a gray squirrel competing in the Olympic broad jump. The Habitat is now pleased to announce that a pair of northern cardinals will be competing in the Olympic ice skating event.
Even though the Habitat provides water to the birds using a heated bird bath, this pair of male and female cardinals elected to skate on the ice.
Water seeps up on the edge of the ice and allows the cardinals to get a drink. If there is a hard way to do something, these birds will find it.

Cardinal Keeps Watchful Eye on Pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks

Why is this male northern cardinal craning his neck and looking upward? After all, this is not a familiar pose for the bright red bird.
It was a clear, crisp morning in the Colvin Run Habitat. Temperature in the teens; not a cloud in the sky. Snow had fallen the previous day, so there was a white dusting of snow remaining on the trees. But the real beauty, not to mention the object of the cardinal’s attention, was a pair of red-shouldered hawks in the side oaks.
After a minute one flew away. So in the third photo you can see (unfortunately through the trees) the classic red-shouldered of the under wing. The remaining hawk then turned and posed for the last photo.
I am hoping that they represent a pair of mating hawks that will stay the season, as opposed to a pair migrating north. The Smithsonian’s Birds of North America observes that red-shouldered hawks “will use the same territory for years, and even succeeding generations may return to the same territory. The longest recorded use of the same territory is forty-five years.” So a mating pair in the Habitat most likely has been here a while and will be here for some time to come.

Habitat Gray Squirrel to Compete in Olympics

Based on his talents in the broad jump, one of the Colvin Run Habitat clearly will compete in the next Olympics. Let me explain. Squirrels are notorious for find clever ways to get to bird feeders, even though they have an abundant amount of seed available on the ground. With two bird feeders attached to the porch windows, I noticed a week ago that one of the squirrels was attempting to walk the one inch ledge to get to the feeders. Of course, the squirrel eventually would fall off. Until this one discovered the broad jump.
This guy would get on to the rail to the porch steps, then from a standing-still position jump the 5 feet distance to the feeder. He would bounce off of the windows – with a very loud thump – and then hang onto the feeder for dear life. Once in a stable position, he would feast on the shelled sunflower seeds. He would only leave when I tapped on the windows. I relocated the feeder; stay tuned to see if he finds an alternative path.

Red-Winged Balckbirds, Brown-Headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles - All Just Passing Through

Spring is beginning. During the last week, combined flocks of many different bird types have been arriving and departing. It started in small numbers (robins and red-winged blackbirds). But this weekend, the flow clearly increased.

I previously mentioned that red-winged blackbirds are not observed in the Habitat for the late spring and summer. So I am rather confident that the dozen or so males (the females look a lot like starlings and are harder for me to count) are transients.

With them yesterday were grackles and brown-headed cow birds. In the photos, the males all have black bodies and beaks. The red-wings (first and second photos) have the red (really orange) wing stripe; the cow birds have brown heads (second photo left side, the females have medium brown bodies); and, the grackles have a purple sheen to their heads (last two photos).

Sorry, for the poor quality of the photos – need a larger lens and additional sunlight would help also.

Red-Shouldered Hawk in the Colvin Run Habitat

A red-shouldered hawk arrived in the Habitat this morning.
Like many of the hawk observations, this one was initially spotted perched 30 feet up in one of the deciduous trees and surveying the terrain below.
In comparison to other red-shoulders observed in the Habitat, this red-shoulder was, well, simply huge. Not exactly a scientific term or observation, but an honest one.
The field guides say that the red-shouldered hawk's wingspan can be as great as 50 inches. This one was clearly in that range.
Typical to hawks visiting the Habitat, this red-shouldered perched a few minutes that flew away.

Downy Woodpecker - Plays Hide and Seek

With temperatures in the 60s, there was the hope of spring this afternoon in the Colvin Run Habitat. I took the camera and headed out to see which of the birds would come to the feeders with me a few feet away.
This male downy woodpecker first came to the dogwood tree, then to one of the suet feeders. He took hold on the other side of the suet feeder, where I could not see him and he could not see me. Of course, he still understood where I was. So, every ten seconds or so, he would peek around the side of the feeder. He played this game of hide and seek for about a minute, then went his way.
I find that the downy woodpeckers are usually the first to come by when I stand out in the Habitat.