Date:         Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:24:52 -0800
Reply-To:     "Michael C. Parrish" <pendragon1998@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Michael C. Parrish" <pendragon1998@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Cool Red-tailed Hawk Behavior, Watkinsville (Oconee Co)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

While I was out in the backyard this beautiful afternoon, I heard a
Red-tailed Hawk scream up above me.  I looked, and saw three for the
price of one.  The three hawks were circling close to each other and
vocalizing repeatedly.  When I returned from my bolt inside for
binoculars, I was just in time to witness two of the hawks grab one
another's talons and "lock on" before rapidly whipping down to earth in
a violent spiral, still locked in each other's grasp.  After a good 5
seconds of spinning, at about 50 feet from the ground, they broke and
flapped for altitude.  One had apparently lost the contest and after a
brief circle around the yard, he cruised off.

The other two hawks gained altitude and circled around one another with
their legs lowered, sometimes approaching to nearly touching, but
gradually moving apart.  This second interaction seemed much more
peaceful than the grab-and-spin attack before.  The hawks gradually
moved quite a distance apart.

I thought the fun was over, when one of the hawks turned and came in
low, about two yards down the street and within view from my yard.  She
(I assume it was female) alighted about 20 feet high in a small stand
of regenerating trees, near a nest I had not previously noticed.  I
would have assumed the nest belonged to a squirrel, although it was
rather small compared to most squirrel nests I've seen.  After 30
seconds or so, she hopped down and got onto the nest, inspecting it.  A
few minutes later, she flew off, made a wide circle over the general
area, and departed.  From this behavior, I concluded that this was the
hawk's own nest, although perhaps from a previous season.  I'll keep an
eye out and hopefully I'll get to watch her raise some young.

Good birding,

Michael C. Parrish
Watkinsville, GA (Oconee Co.)
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~parrishm/

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