Red-tailed Hawks
When Maxine and I went over to the Lakewood Equestrian Center and saw all those bunnies a couple weekends ago, I also saw a great big hawk's nest high up in an electric tower just past the gate over in the park.
We went around to the Rynerson Park side, and sure enough, there was a mother Red-tailed Hawk and two "babies" in the nest. In the picture above, the mother has the white breast and is on the left, and a baby with more speckled plumage is on the right.
Then one of the hawks flew back. I saw it in the distance, and sure enough, it made its way over to the nest area. It was a really windy day and the nice thing about that was the hawks could basically hover in place right above me. This one above, one of the "babies," was the first back. It never went into the nest, but soared all around it for a while. You can tell it's a juvenile by the reddish and more speckled breast.
Then, Mama came back. I also saw her in the distance, being chased first by crows and later by Brewer's Blackbirds. Watching her get harassed everywhere she went made me realize it probably kind of sucks to be a hawk. It's like being a celebrity with paparazzi everywhere you go.
They found a little peace high up in a eucalyptus tree. Side by side you can really see the size difference between the male on the right and the female.
Red-tailed Hawks, taken on May 15th and 23rd in Rynerson Park with the Nikon.
The mother was watching me down below her and soon flew off, to find food presumably. A baby then made its way to the edge to take her place. You can see both babies in the picture above. I wasn't able to get any better pictures of them that day, and Maxine was getting hungry, so we left. But every day the following week I was eager to get back. I must have suggested going to look at the horses and bunnies to anyone who got within earshot.
The following weekend, a full week later, I managed to get back over there. The nest appeared empty, but I hung around for a while hoping they'd come back. A jogger who saw me with my camera staring at the empty nest told me the hawks have nested there for years but hadn't come back this year because of the crows. I politely told him that yes, they had indeed been back this year and had successfully hatched a brood. He politely jogged off.
Then one of the hawks flew back. I saw it in the distance, and sure enough, it made its way over to the nest area. It was a really windy day and the nice thing about that was the hawks could basically hover in place right above me. This one above, one of the "babies," was the first back. It never went into the nest, but soared all around it for a while. You can tell it's a juvenile by the reddish and more speckled breast.
Then the male came by. I was able to catch him in mid-shriek. (Red-tailed Hawks make the distinctive, long shrieking call they use in the movies for pretty much any bird. Got a scene with a Bald Eagle? Loop in a Red-tailed Hawk call.) If he looks smaller than the juvenile, that's partly because he was higher up and partly because he is smaller than the juvenile. Sexual dimorphism in Red-tails is pretty pronounced and males are about half the size of females.
Red-tailed Hawks, taken on May 15th and 23rd in Rynerson Park with the Nikon.
I used to be in favor of the pursuers, but have come to agree with you on the plight of the pursued. I found it gratifying that time I saw crows hectoring a hawk in one of the pines on our block. A few seconds later, a crow plunged to the street below. I went over to look at it. It had no head. A few seconds later, I spotted the hawk on nearby telephone pole enjoying a nice crow head.
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