It's officially nesting season for our local red-tailed hawks as they are now brooding eggs. Things should be quiet over the next few weeks, but we should still be able to see the new male hawk (M2) hunting and delivering food to Amelia.
I can't let the season commence without some mating photos as there's only a small window of time each year to witness it, so here you go...
M2 approaches Amelia:
It only takes a few seconds...
Afterwards, M2 brought Amelia a gift of a headless rat (in his talons).
M2 holds it up to give her a better view.
Unfortunately, they dropped the rat during the hand-off. You can see it falling in the photo below.
I waited to see if either of them would drop down to retrieve the food, but neither of them did while I was there. They may have scavenged it later.
Winter has enabled us to see the new nest fairly well, but as soon as this tree blooms, I have doubts that we'll be able to see anything at all. Below, Amelia checks out the view from the nest.
This tree should provide some nice shade for the hawks as the weather warms, so I'm happy for that.
Amelia on her porch:
In the mean time, we can enjoy watching M2 practice his hunting skills. In the photo below, he is holding a starling he nabbed from a tree a few seconds prior.
In this photo, he prepares to deliver another starling. For a while, there were flocks of starlings in the park and he seemed to like catching them over pigeons.
M2 looking for prey opportunities:
This photo shows his prominent white "eyebrows" which are one way to identify him from Amelia.
His head overall is very light, as well as his throat.
While flying, M2 looks very much like Christo, except for his bright yellow eyes (Christo's were brown).
Note: it is not possible to see into the nest, or to know how many eggs there are, but there are usually three. We will just have to wait and be surprised...stay tuned.
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