The night started with the alert female on the bridge. I took a long movie of her to document what the wake up process was like.
She flew off into the Loch when it got dark. They both went off to the branches and trees near the cavity by the damaged rustic bridge. They head rubbed, copulated and both spent time in the cavity. I need to watch this cavity one night to see if the male is roosting in it and guarding it during the day.
Tonight, it was back to the familiar, even with all of the snow on the ground. Whinnies and Trills, copulation and then lots of whinnies from the female. The activity we saw was around the familiar spots at the southern end of the Loch, including some calling from near the cavity she used a few weeks ago.
The city had a major snow storm last night and into today. The female was in her cavity by the arch, and she was the only one to be heard or seen this evening. She gave one small call before flying out, and then went due west across the road at a very low height. She then went slowly up the hill that is on the north shore of The Pool.
She inspected a cavity and then went into some brush where we lost her. With the snow cover and cold temperatures, I wonder if eating was all she was worried about.
It will be interesting to see what happens as it warms up later in the week.
The female was using the small broken tree cavity by Glen Span Arch this evening. She jumped up while I was on the bridge in response to owl tapes played by an owl tour leader. I was able to call out for him to stop and brought the group up to the bridge, but she was already disturbed and calling out.
She settled down, flew out and was joined by the male at the bottom of the arch. They went around the area of the old nest cavity. She peeked in once again and they both copulated nearby.
They then went back towards Glen Span Arch, flew through it and off to the west side of the arch.
At this point, we’ve lost tract of their nightly roosts, so it’s hard to figure out where their evening is starting. The evening started slowly with the first sign of an owl being twenty to thirty minutes after dusk. The female called from the area near last year’s nest cavity.
Once we caught up to her, she moved about quickly. She went across the drive with the male, and ended up near the waterfall at the northeast edge of The Pool. The male went into a cavity in a London Plain but quickly exited.
They then went up to a tree by the West Drive around 101st, and he went into a cavity in a different London Plain. They ended up being very cooperative in this tree with him flying back and forth showing his fiery red image in the sky.
They then ended up moving south, stopped by their nest cavity from 2007, and down to the playground at 100th.
Red-tailed Hawks can build multiple nests and choose one at the last minute. So, on Saturday when they spent much of their time in the lower eighties, and visited the nest they built after last year’s fell which two blocks north of the Boat Basin Café, it made me wonder if their final nest selection hasn’t been made yet.
In any case, while I was there they kept me on my toes, moving from 79th to 95th and went to both sides of the highway. It took a lot of energy to keep up with them!
