Pale Male and Octavia Sky Dance and The Very Hungry Crow

Photo http://www.palemale.com/

Pale Male (up left), and Octavia are doing a little sky dancing or more properly, they are performing courtship flights, these days.  And the way one can tell if copulation is happening (no word from the ground on that yet) or soon copulation will be is that they begin to hang their talons down as they fly.  See Octavia's legs?  Not tucked up as they usually are during flight.  It won't be long now!

THE COLD, HUNGRY CROW

Earlier today I looked out the window toward the feeders and there was a Crow standing on the privacy fence.  She didn't look good.. Her feathers were more puffed up than the other Crows and she was squatting a little so her feathers covered her feet slightly.  But the biggest thing was that she looked right at me and instead of taking off to a higher perch as is normal for Crows, a suspicious species,  she just stared at me.

I flashed back on a conversation I had yesterday. I'd been talking to one of the local rehabbers and she said this time of year is what she calls "the dying time".  It is particularly the case this winter as the temperatures are single digits or below zero almost constantly, the snow is very deep, so overwintering creatures have depleted their fat reserves and there is yet no end in sight of  deep winter..

She looked BAD.

I looked around for something to grab quickly so I could immediately go and put it out on the goodie stump.  I grabbed my coat,  a stale bisquit, and the tail end of a loaf of raisin bread and headed out the back door.  When I turned the corner she was still there.  I held my hands out so she could see I had food.  Her two companions, remember a Crow foraging party tends to be three birds, had taken off just as I came around the house.  I got half way to her before she finally flew up into the Pondorosa Pine.  I watched her go but she stumbled when she made to land on the branch.  Another bad sign.

I broke up what I had and laid it on the slat on the fence instead of the stump so it would be easier for her to get.

I purposely didn't open the curtains or look out the window to watch as I wanted the weak Crow to be comfortable getting the food as soon as possible.  I got on with other things.

A while later I went to the laundry room and  looked out the curtain covered window to check if the food was gone.

The food was gone and the Crow was back sitting on the fence.

She obviously sees me but doesn't flush off the fence. Unusual.  

Oh no!  

They hadn't had enough in this bitter weather.  

Time to get out the big guns and something more nutritious than bread with raisins in it.

Time to raid the fridge for the good stuff. 

If it were me what would I want.  I rummaged.  Ah ha!  I'd made homemade beef stew some days ago and there was some left.  Actually with fragmented food you aren't really supposed to eat it after three days.  Perfect excuse to share.

Out it came.  I stuck it in the microwave to take the chill off and headed out the back door.

When she saw me instead of flying up into the pine she just flew a few feet over onto the top branch of the Sparrow Pile.  A squirrel had taken refuge there as well and she pecked at him when he tried to get on her skinny branch which likely would have dumped both of them.

 She watches.  Alert.  But she is sticking to the branch and not flying away.  I'm really quite close.  I spoon the stew out onto the slate of snow covered wood that holds up the suet feeder. It  is right below where she had been previously perched.  I turn and head back to the house, then throw my coat off and head for the appropriate windows.  

Drat!  I hadn't opened the curtains even yet.  This will spook her.

I pull the curtains back

By the time I get to the laundry room she is leaning forward looking at the stew.  It will be the chunks of meat that she is craving.  She sees me and sticks.

One foot tucked up in her belly feathers for warmth, she stares at the stew.  

I hope she soon feels comfortable enough to fly over and eat.  I don't detect the other Crows.  Interesting.  They are letting her go first twice.

I turn and walk from the laundry room.  I don't try to spy on her from other windows; I busy myself with other things.

12 minutes later when I peer out the laundry room window, every speck of meat is gone and there had been numerous large chunks.

The potatoes and carrots remain.  Good.  She's had enough and no fear the remainder will go to waste.  Not in this weather. Someone who needs  the calories will eat it.

Well kind readers, I'd meant to put Part 3 of the Eagle search up tonight but as it is 5am.  Part 3 is best left for Saturday.

Just in time to finish that part of the saga so I can go looking for Eagles again on this Sunday too.

Happy Hawking!
Donegal Browne







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Does Pale Male Recognize His 2012 Fledglings? And the Monarch of Central Park Still Knows How to Impress a Girl!

The two fledglings of Pale Male and Zena who were poisoned not long after this photograph was taken and are now back in Central Park.               Courtesy of  http://www.palemale.com/  

FROM ROBIN OF ILLINOIS REGARDING THE RELEASE OF THE FIFTH AVENUE FLEDGLINGS BACK TO CENTRAL PARK  AND THE POSSIBILITY OF PALE MALE RECOGNIZING THEM AND CONTINUING HIS TRAINING OF THE YOUNG HAWKS--

I'm thinking of the Franklin step-dad, stepping in as a stranger, to raise another male's young, contrary to everything we thought we knew about RTHs. 

PM's hormones may be waning, and that may signal to us that these young RTHs are now strangers to him, but he was seen flying overhead and watching. As you've said, and time has proven, as we are able to see more of the private lives of the hawks, never underestimate a red tail! 

Who knows?He may indeed still recognize them in some way, and pick up the training (and supplemental feeding) with his two surviving progeny. 

I was considering whether the two young'uns might stay in the Park, over-wintering there, with PM's help. Just because we haven't seen that kind of behavior before, doesn't mean it can't happen. Franklin's T2 is certainly testimony to that! 

I'm glad they painted the toenails and suspect that Rob will be keeping a careful and caring eye out, to see if they stay or leave. That was an excellent idea. WINORR is the BEST! And Rob is too.

And your blog is too! Thank you. 

Robin

Indeed, one must Never Underestimate a Red-tail!

But in this case I've a little snippet of past experience that makes me believe that Pale Male likely does recognize his previous progeny.

Back in 2005, I was watching the 927 Fifth Avenue Nest.  Lola was sitting on eggs and Pale Male had just dropped in  for a visit.  When suddenly, out of-- it seemed nowhere-- but likely from Madison the next Avenue beyond Fifth, a third Red-tail  appeared perched on the overhang directly over the nest and looked down at Pale Male and Lola.  Pale Male looked up and in a nanosecond he'd zipped up to the third Red-tail  and instead of bowling him right over backwards, Pale landed with a quick turn, less than a foot away from the new hawk, leaned over towards him and glared.  Third hawk, appeared to realize his transgression, looked utterly startled and hot winged it out of there.  Unexpectedly Pale Male didn't give chase.  He calmly floated down and landed on the nest again, as if nothing had happened. Not a whiff of the usual hot-pursuit-adrenalined-out-look hawks usually get in instances like these.  

Remember this was the time of year when the territorial boundaries are utterly rigid and no birds except perhaps some pigeons or a few dickey birds are allowed to loiter.  Even Gulls and Turkey Vultures learn to keep clear.  But in this case something was very different and after much thought as to "Why?", I began to think it was possible that the third hawk was one that Pale Male recognized and likely a youngster from the previous year who had come to check out the old homestead.

That said it does not necessarily follow that if Pale Male did recognize these two from the 2012 nest that he would necessarily pick up their training from where it was left off.   But then again, as Robin pointed out, T2 certainly surprised everyone didn't he?  

Though Pale Male may be a touch distracted at the moment with courting his now "New Girl", Octavia.  There are so many twigs and amorous flights and so little time.  

This of course does not keep the youngsters from watching Pale Male as he hunts.  Often the way adults teach techniques to their fledglings anyway.  

Though when the youngsters are six months younger the adult will make sure their attention has been taken from tussling with each other and killing rocks and twigs to the training at hand.  

At this point these two are old enough to pay attention on their own.  Therefore it may not be obvious that they are being trained but I believe their hawk eyes will be focused on the adult hawks in their environment.

And please God, no poisoned rats!

Photo courtesy of http://www.palemale.com/ 

Pale Male and Octavia in courtship flight.  See the hanging talons?
 

 That's right!  Plus it's never too early to nail down one's mate for the upcoming season. 

Donegal Browne