In northern Utah. In January.
Three days ago, January 29th, was the first day after my pickup was repaired so I was itching to go shooting. At the last minute I decided to head to the west desert. It’s a long drive but it would be a good test for my repaired pickup and besides, after being stuck at home for so long I was looking forward to the drive and the solitude in pretty remote country.
I ended up seeing and documenting nesting behavior in Red-tailed Hawks, a behavior I’d never witnessed so early in the year.
Note: Many of the photos below are of mediocre to poor quality. The hawks were usually far away so some of these photos have been cropped severely. I’m posting them for documentary purposes only.
When I approached a very tall cliff I noticed this adult Red-tailed Hawk perched on a large rock at the very top of the cliff. For behavioral reasons, I suspect that this bird is a male. The hawk was so high up on the cliff I could barely get my lens on him because of the restrictions of the upper frame of my pickup window.
Soon I noticed another adult red-tail soaring not too far away. Eventually the second hawk landed on the same very large cliff, perhaps 100 yards away from the first hawk. Since red-tails are monogamous and often mate for life, I wondered if they might be a mated pair. There are two old red-tail nests in the vicinity but since it was still January, the possibility that they were already in the process of nest construction/refurbishing didn’t even cross my mind.
Then one of the hawks (I’m not sure which one but I suspect it’s the male) took off and landed in some brushy bushes several hundred yards from the cliff. He was so far away I could barely see him so I decided to drive up on him. As I approached him, he took off and landed in another nearby brushy bush – this one. I had the definite impression he was looking for something. Prey?
He was still far away but through my lens I could tell that he was tugging on some of the branches of the bush which caused him to lose his balance, as we see in this photo. After repeated awkward attempts, he…
was finally able to break off one of the twigs, which in this photo is in his bill.
Then he took off with the twig and…
headed in the general direction of the two nests I mentioned. I got nearly a dozen photos of him in flight with the twig but my focus point locked onto the background so in that photo series the hawk was increasingly soft.
One of the nests was on the other side of the cliff and far away so I had to turn my pickup around, drive to the other side of the cliff, and turn around again before I could see it. Presuming the hawk initially went to that nest, he was…
already gone by the time I got it in my viewfinder. It’s equally possible that he took the twig to the other nest, that I couldn’t see because it was further down the road.
Several times I saw both birds cavorting near each other in flight but this is the only shot I was able to get that included both of them.
When you see a Red-tailed Hawk gathering twigs and carrying them in flight, you pretty much know that the bird is in the process of nest-building. Even when it’s still January.
Cornell’s Birds of the World says that nest-building in Red-tailed Hawks “usually begins late Feb or early Mar”. All I know is that in the past, I’m sure I’ve never seen red-tails exhibiting nesting behavior in January.
Ron
PS – Another (remote?) possibility is that the presumed male never took the twig to either nest. He may have presented it to the female as a “nuptial gift”, a behavior I’ve seen in red-tails in the past at the beginning of nesting season.
Ron, please post as many “soft” photos as you want – anything from you is a gem – not just the photos but the story, too. Thanks so much!
glad you were able to get some solitude while also getting very interesting shots. GOOD ones!!
I’m happy to see your Red-tailed friends in any sort of activity — perhaps the Mr. is just anticipating what the Mrs. might like for Valentine’s Day, and he’s building a collection of appropriate gifts for her to choose from.
I’ve seen some mating behaviors amongst a pair in my neighborhood, am hoping for a nest in a nearby eucalyptus tree.
Chris, I well remember all the eucalyptus trees when I lived in SoCal as a kid. Never see them here of course.
What a wonderful way to test your truck repairs! You were duly rewarded for your patience. This is a splendid couple, indeed. Hope they have a very fruitful breeding season. Laura would have loved seeing this post.
Thank you for including a “wing fling” shot (one of my favorite bird poses), especially as his pantaloons are easy to spot in this one. Also, it looks like his nictitating membrane is present in the next shot (the one before the nest).
Our neighborhood birds are going to be doing some extra nest building this season because the gusty winds from a few weeks ago blew several down from trees. Fortunately, they all seemed empty as far as we can surmise.
Good eye, Marty. You’re absolutely right about the membrane. He probably closed it to protect his eye from the flailing twig.
Interesting! What triggers some behavior always seems to remain a mystery just when we’re “sure” we know the drill!
Some Gray Crowned Rosy Finches apparently thought it was “spring” a few days back and left for a day or two. They’re back – good thing with sub-zero on the way !
“They’re back – good thing with sub-zero on the way.”
Judy, I’d bet that they’re very aware of the approaching cold weather, which is why they returned to your ‘food larder’.
Nice shots and info Ron. We are always a little warmer here in the north-central AZ mountains than you are so ours have already been building.
Everett, Cornell also says that in Arizona (where you are) red-tails can begin nesting activities “as early as late Dec”. But it’s usually early March before it begins around here.
Very interesting photo documentation. Do not think I have ever seen this before; in photos or in person. Thanks for sharing.
For what it’s worth, just yesterday both my wife and I remarked to one another that birds in our area seem to be exhibiting behaviors that we typically do not hear or see this early.
Michael, Western Meadowlarks were also singing that same morning. Singing, not just chirping or chortling. It’s too early for that too.