Tulsa Red-tails--Kay Attacks Food, The Nest on M

Capture by Tulsa Hawkwatcher BobDMac & http://www.kjrh.com/content/news/hawks/default.aspx
(This is the photo you'll get with Bob's first link just after Tulsa Sally's report below. Her report relates to Bob's screen captures.)

Tulsa Hawkwatcher Sally reports--

Jay brought food-looks like a rodent-to the nest at 7:30 last night. Kay must have been famished-she mantled and stood up before he arrived and pounced on it as he landed then took off with it. Bobdmac got a nice video and captures of it. She was screaming nearly all day yesterday, even after she had a 40+ minute break and came back looking fuller. This is the first time that I recall Jay coming to the nest so late.
Sally
Forum thread link
http://community.kjrh.com/forums/126/3721854/ShowThread.aspx

Sally,
When the tiercels can't come up with pigeons or other prey during the bulk of the day and sometimes just because they are bountiful, the breadwinner goes for rats. And rats come out most often in the evening so the tiercel will come late to the nest.

Wasn't there far more pigeon coming to the nest during the day last season? Has something happened to the pigeon population?

D.B.

**************************************************************
FROM TULSA HAWKWATCHER BOB MCCARGAR

Donna,
I think these screen caps from this afternoonillustrate just how ferocious the red tails can be.First, she spots Jay with food and stands up, her beak wide open:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/3386838940_761b9ef21f_o.jpg



She spreads her wings slightly as Jay nears the nest http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3386031967_6eff737f23_o.jpg



She prepares to leap
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/3386851060_4cf7e7ba20_o.jpg



The prey arrives
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3583/3386858824_3c7c546bf7_o.jpg



She lunges the instant that the prey hits the nest http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3623/3386051589_fc0ca12571_o.jpg



Before Jay can bring his wings in, she's on the prey http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3571/3386056405_3d6db47335_o.jpg



She takes it in her beak
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3556/3386062559_ee3f3afc2c_o.jpg



And leaps off
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3386878702_d4a48e83f9_o.jpg



Jay follows her flight before settling on the eggs
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/3386884224_42cd8a0db8_o.jpg


Bob


Wow, Bob, we're talking a hungry formel who isn't taking any prisoners. It doesn't look like she is getting enough food often enough. Does anyone know if there is a problem with the prey depth this year? I do wish I knew what going on? Was last season similar?

Have you folks ever had the chance to see food delivery by a parent to a fledgling off the nest? Very similar. Sometimes the adult will just drop the food from the air if the fledge is in a safe location and where they are is big enough to "catch" the prey. But if the food is being brought to say a limb with a new fledge, the adult brings it in, and then must leap away into flight in order not to be leapt upon by their progeny.

When the formel is being fed, say twice a day and isn't ravenous with hunger, the tiercel will bring in food, lay it on the nest, and when she comes off the nest, the male keeps his head down (there is some thought that the spot of the backs of RTs heads is a cue that the bird shouldn't be attacked), the female comes over and picks up the prey and slowly takes it to another part of the nest to eat it. On the Fifth Avenue nest, Pale Male will most often l just watch Lola eat as opposed to taking the bowl if she's chosen to eat on the nest. If she takes the food and leaves, then he will incubate the eggs.


Is that the way it works in the Tulsa nest?


When I first got her in my sights the M, N1 formel was sitting at a right angle to her current position.

5:36PM Because of the anchoring branches she is very curved into the bowl of the nest as opposed to her usual end to end position, where at times she completely disappears except for an eye.

5:50:06 PM See how her tail is laying on the branch behind her.

5:50:19 PM

5:58PM I'd been watching from a distant thicket but the hawks had spotted me so there were no switches, no preening on the nest, none of the usual behavior that would go on without an observer or with hawks habituated to humans. Eventually I get back into the car and drive away and I'm sure the Ms give a deep sigh of relief.

From Robin of Illinois and the Blackwater Eagle Blog

Yes folks, way up there is the Blackwater Eagle Nest.

D.B.

Pale Male Jr., Charlotte, Doorstep, Friend, and the Turkey Eating Spruce Trees

Photo by Brett Odom--Charlotte advances on the nest with a twig.
Hey Donna,
I got a photo of the egg today. It is hard to tell how many are actually there as the bowl of the nest is blocked, but I circled the one egg that you can see in the first photo.
Regards,
Brett Odom


Photo by Brett Odom

Excellent! And there could already be more as the bowl is partially obscured by the window divider. Interesting. It looks like the hawks haven't put much of a twig-side on this side of the bowl as the glass makes a ready made barrier. Though of course you are at a slightly higher elevation so it's hard to tell though we can see that egg!

Thanks Brett, please keep us updated.

This is Doorstep and Friend, the Mourning Doves who are now doing their 4th season in the yard in Wisconsin. Friend has been trailing Doorstep, following amorously close on her tail through all her daily activities, the full day. He's ready for copulation but she doesn't seem to be. In fact he is driving her a little nuts. Just previous to this photo he had sidled over to her on the branch and was being a bit pushy. She pecked him in the head, not that hard, but enough to get his attention. He's being more patient now.
I was driving along in the car on my way to see the Red-tails on County M the other day and what should I see but a flock of turkeys foraging on this corn field. I stopped the car.

This started the turkeys. Out of the corn field they came onto the mowed area around the farm buildings and started heading right. Not running you understand, nor the turkey trot, but one might call it walking with some speed.

Notice how they're on turf so walking is faster, but they still maintain the distance from me so they are screened by the last row of corn stalks.

The head of the line has now made it nearly into the farmyard. In this group there seem to be three Toms who are controlling the activities. Or one Tom and his two lesser buddies who do traffic control, it isn't clear to me yet exactly how Turkey hierarchy works.

The rest of the line is still coming. I believe that there are 13 of them.

Now this is interesting. Once at the Spruce trees some Turkeys go left and some go right.

Note the bird who has made it to the sidewalk and is using his wings to hurry. And what is happening to the turkeys on the right by the Spruce trees?

The lead turkeys are far left watching the proceedings and watching me.

Still more are coming out of the corn. What is happening to all the turkeys that have gone right?

One turkey watches me while the other two....

...get closer to the Spruce boughs

And then they are gone. Those big tall turkeys have done a disappearing act. It is as if the Spruce tree has just swallowed them.
Note the three lead turkeys are still left.

Okay now one of the leads is over beyond the barrier on guard. This big guy center is also watching me, another guard. Can you see the turkey head peeking up over the Spruce bough watching as well?

And here they come! The three guards continue to do so and the others start sneaking out of the Spruce and heading out to the brush across the way.

D.B.

Tuesday Miscellany

Photograph by Pat Gonzalez, as is the following email.

Donegal:

Amazing adventure today at the Botanical Garden. First up, not one but TWO large red tail hawks on the same branch. I wasn't able to get close enough to see if one of them was my pal who I've been photographing the last couple of month. I've been meaning to look at all the photos for any distinctive field marks. Anyhow, one flew off landing on a tree in the Bronx Zoo which is across the way, the other flew under the canopy of some pine trees..... WITH A BRANCH IN ITS BEAK. Should I break out the rattle and cigars in anticipation of a visit from the stork? : )

Well Pat, it's quite possible that you can anticipate natal festivities, though we have had cases in Manhattan, Charlotte and Pale Male Jr. last season are a case in point, where they brought twigs and bark to their previous nest site but never laid any eggs. They took the year off for some reason.

(By the way, big news about Charlotte and Pale Male Jr., the second post down after this one!)

Photo:Pat Gonzalez
Later, I saw my pal red-tail in the native forest. All of a sudden a HUGE raptor flew towards him with talons extended ready to pounce. At the last second, Red-tail turned his head and saw what was coming, jumping off about a second before the bird landed on the exact same branch occupied by Red-tail.


Photo:Pat Gonzalez
It was my pal great horned owl. Yikes! I guess it was safe to assume he was defending his area as he was just a few yards away from the branch where I usually see him perched.
Pat

As the photographs had been modified they no longer had the original time they were taken so I've emailed Pat asking what time of day the Great Horned Owl was out and about chasing Red-tails. Shouldn't she have been asleep?

NOW TO THE WISCONSIN REPORT--

We are now well over 48 straight hours of cold drenching rain.

The various local rivers are at or near flood and still the rain falls, incessantly, heavily. I went out to check on the Red-tail nests and the vernal ponds I've been keeping an eye on.

The second nest on County M, N2, has lost a side, and a pair of Red-tails was seen circling in the sky above the area.

N2 was not built nearly as sturdily as N1 (above) and I suspected that perhaps it was a first nest. Better to have fallen now than later. Perhaps they will build a replacement nest, learning from their first attempt, and try again.

Buffleheads in a vernal pond near Clear Lake off Hwy 59

There are a variety of water fowl: Mallards, Canvasbacks, Ring-necks, and Canada Geese. They glide, paddle, dip, and dabble around the pond's surface. They being ducks don't find the rain the least problematical.

Nor did this Sandhill Crane making her way to the marsh over the hill.

Meanwhile in the front yard on Rainbow Drive, a flock of over 200 Cedar Waxwings took turns sitting in the Willow on watch and eating the Mountain Ash berries in the adjacent tree.

The Robin and his mate sat in the lower branches of the Mountain Ash for some time watching the large flock of Cedar Waxwings. There was an intention on the Robins part but exactly what it was I'm not sure. Eventually some decision seemed to have been made and the Robins went to ground to forage.

And the rain, cold and constant, continued.

IN NYC, CITY BIRDER HAS NEWS ON BIG MAMA AND JUNIOR--

http://citybirder.blogspot.com/2009/03/hawk-update.html

And from New York Times gleaner of significant articles of interest Bill Walters, information which was suspected and has now been quantified-

SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT March 20, 2009

One Third of U.S. Bird Species Endangered, Survey Finds

By CORNELIA DEAN

The survey found that over the last four decades, grassland birds had declined by 40 percent and birds in arid lands by 30 percent.

D.B.
P.S. If you haven't seen them yet there are news updates following this post on the Riverside Park Red-tails plus Pale Male Jr. and Charlotte, posted Tuesday.