Saga of a Red-tailed Hawk

The spring of 1997 has been a very special season for us and I would like to share it with those of you who enjoy this column, and especially with those of you who have so kindly read and enjoyed my recently published book, "Because They Matter…". I apologize for touting my book in this column, but today's article is, in fact, an update on a story in the book and, in and of itself, a great adventure in bird watching.

In 1991, we admitted a juvenile red-tailed hawk into our facility. The bird had been taken as a baby and improperly hand-raised. Consequently, she was somewhat tamed and most definitely imprinted on humans. Such cases are usually nightmares for us because reversal of this situation is difficult and best and generally impossible. In most cases, these animals, even if released, will never mate and will spend their lives in a netherworld- caught between the wild and tame worlds. Generally, such animals, when taken to wildlife centers, are either kept in captivity for their entire lives, or humanely euthanized.

We refused to give up on this beautiful hawk, and after many false starts, she finally gained her (almost complete) freedom from us in 1994. We watched her successfully capture prey in our adjoining fields, yet we also tended to her culinary pleasures when she would land on our roof and demand food from us, never quite able to completely sever her ties to us.

Being an aggressive female, she allowed no trespassing red-tails to share her territory, until early 1996. At this time, she was seen soaring in the company of another red-tail. Shortly thereafter, she began carrying large twigs to a huge eucalyptus tree near our property. She did build a sloppy nest in 1996, but nothing became of it and it was abandoned.

Fall and winter of 1996 however, brought more excitement to us than we could possibly stand! Not only was our red-tail seen in the company of a red-tail (probably the same one as before), but there was some very serious "X-rated" courtship going on, and on, and on… We knew then that the red-tail had truly found her "beloved". Shortly afterwards, she again began carrying twigs, this time to a nearby pine tree. In the meantime, the two hawks continued their passionate relationship as we humans saw it all! In late may of 1997, after several days of unusual behavior by the red-tail, we set up our spotting scope, and, miracle of miracles, we saw her feeding two downy babies. Our girl had come the full circle!

This red-tail has overcome enormous odds to become a "normal' bird. Watching her court, mate and raise babies has been an unbelievable thrill for those of us who have known her for six, long years! Her babies should fledge and leave the nest in a few weeks. We are eagerly awaiting that day and keep our spotting scope handy at all times.

For those of you who might enjoy watching the cycle of life of our diurnal birds of prey (hawks), first of all, get a spotting scope or a good pair of binoculars. Know what hawks are in your area, with the most common being red-tails and red-shoulders. Late in the year watch for courtship activity (i.e. two birds flying together, vocalizations back and forth and actual mating). Later, watch for the birds carrying large twigs and note the area. This will be your nest site. If your area birds are an "old married couple", they may re-use their previous nest- and just spruce it up a bit. Newlyweds will be busy all day long building a new nest. If the nest is left undisturbed, eggs will be laid, incubated and they will hatch in late spring. The babies generally fledge 10 -12 weeks later and will remain with the parents for several months, learning hunting techniques from their parents. Eventually the juveniles will be ousted for good, forced to find their own territory and the parent birds will begin their annual courtship ritual anew.

If you are fortunate enough to know exactly where your birds are nesting, there are a few things you should know. Most importantly, stay away from the nest site. Any bird, be she mockingbird or red-tailed hawk will aggressively protect her nest. You do not want to be perceived as a threat to a nesting hawk! Keep away from the nest. Not only could you be seriously injured, you are violating federal law; and if caught, you could be severely penalized. Additionally, your interference could cause abandonment of the nest site for at least a year, maybe more. This means fewer natural predators in our area, and fewer of these majestic hawks soaring our skies.

To drive this point a little closer to home: In 1996, the golden eagles who hunt our nearby fields, raised two young for the first time in several years. The reason for this hiatus? Hikers had disturbed their nest in the early 1990's and the nest was abandoned until 1996. In 1997, the eagles again did not nest, and may not for several more years. Why? Hikers again disturbed the nest site, in spite of signs posted in the area warning against such disturbances. According to noted wildlife biologist Dave Bittner, the signs were even destroyed. With the rapid development in our area, eliminating their foraging areas, coupled with human interference at their nesting site, we could lose our eagles forever.

The loss of any of the birds of prey in our area is a great loss, not only to those of us who love wildlife, but also to those who simply appreciate what they do to keep nature in balance.

For now, I won't worry about our eagles. I will be happy for the red-tail who defied the odds, and hopefully, I will watch her young fledge, learn to hunt, and find their own space.

For those of you interested in the beginning of the odyssey of this red-tail, read the book!

For information on acquiring a copy, (as long as I'm bragging, I might as well go the gamut) we can be reached at (760)789-2324, by e-mail or at the wonderful Ramona Mall web site.

— Cindy Traisi