A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) is nesting near Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. On today’s visit, I thought I could hear extra peep noises whenever the adults would land in the nest (obviously, fairly high in a tree for protection), so there might actually be baby raptors in the nest already! No visual confirmation though, and I may have been “wishful hearing”.
One of the pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks, leaving the nest, with the other’s tail feathers visible. New Orleans, LA, 2010-Mar-21
Then the other of the pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks decided to leave, New Orleans, LA, 2010-Mar-21
One of the pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks on the nest. New Orleans, LA, 2010-Mar-21
One of the pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks landing on the nest. New Orleans, LA, 2010-Mar-21
Addendum: apparently a baby hawk, like many other baby animals, has a special name; one of the folks on the bird email list mentioned it and I’d never even seen the word before. (Watch, it’ll be in the next crossword now!) From Merriam-Webster’s site:
Main Entry: ey·as
Pronunciation: \??-?s\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, alteration (by incorrect division of a neias) of neias, from Anglo-French niais taken in the nest, from Vulgar Latin *nidax nestling, from Latin nidus nest — more at nest
Date: 15th century: an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk
All photos © Amy Friends Stone and all rights reserved.
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