St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Cold Weather Slows Down St. John Action

The action was slow at St. John when I visited on Sunday.  The cold weather must have had the kids cuddled up together to keep warm.  They were briefly active when the mother came in to feed them.

After the sad news about Riverside on Saturday, I’ve heard two bits of good news this weekend.  Robert Schmunk reports that the Highbridge nest safely made it through the winds.  In addition, Jessica S. Ancker reports that after loosing their eggs to a nest failure in April, the Inwood Hill pair seems to be nesting again with a due date of mid-May.

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Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks

Sad News At Riverside

In the high wind late today, the Riverside Park nest was destroyed and all three eyasses perished on Saturday in the late afternoon.  Reports from fellow hawk watchers say the eyasses didn’t fall out of the nest, but fell with the falling nest. They died as soon as they hit the ground, so they died quickly.

The mother was seen looking where the nest had been, and then flew off.  The father also came by the nest soon after the accident with a rat.  The remains of the nest includes lining material and a half eaten pigeon.

Expect the parents to rebuild the nest, although it is likely that this replacement will not be used until next year, if at all.  The parents were seen copulating on Sunday.

Leslie Day reminded me that two years ago, those eyasses also perished the day before Mother’s Day. This family seems to catch all the bad breaks.

This is just another reminder of the high mortality rate for Red-tailed Hawk babies. Over 70% die in their first year.

What remains of the nest.  Picture taken on Sunday, the day after the nest fell.