Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: Bird Brain on April 18, 2010, 05:14:06 PM
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Hi everyone. I was out walking around this afternoon at Maplewood Park and saw a Cooper's Hawk sitting in a nest.
Thank You to Sue (Luv2Bird) for the heads up! Thank You also to my friend Rod out walking his dog for pointing up and saying "See the tail?".
Jo-Anne :D
Maplewood Park: East side of Glen Erin Dr., just North of Aquitaine Ave.
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I visited this park and successfully located this nest today. Naturally I walked around the park for about 20 min before locating it about 30 yards away from where I parked my car.
I was struck by how small this particular nest is - I had a couple of Coopers nesting in the park where I live (Bloor & Cawthra) and their nest was quite a bit higher and noticeably larger (unfortunately they seemed to have moved somewhere else this year). If I just saw the nest itself I would have guessed it would be a sharp-shinned nest, but the incubating bird certainly did have the classic Coopers rounded tail tip. It makes you wonder how there would be sufficient room for eyasses should they hatch any. The other interesting question is how they might react to human presence - the incubating bird did not have any reaction to me, but Coopers are known for being very aggressive towards human presence near the nest after chicks are hatched (although whether this holds in urban areas is sort of an open question).
Does anyone have an idea when incubation might have started? (Typical Coopers incubation period is approx. 34 days). Is there any previous history of nesting in the park?
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I visited this park and successfully located this nest today. Naturally I walked around the park for about 20 min before locating it about 30 yards away from where I parked my car.
Hi ostrich. Welcome to the forum! :D Murphy's Law re: 30 yards away. :lol: I'm happy to read that you found the nest.
I was struck by how small this particular nest is - I had a couple of Coopers nesting in the park where I live (Bloor & Cawthra) and their nest was quite a bit higher and noticeably larger (unfortunately they seemed to have moved somewhere else this year). If I just saw the nest itself I would have guessed it would be a sharp-shinned nest, but the incubating bird certainly did have the classic Coopers rounded tail tip. It makes you wonder how there would be sufficient room for eyasses should they hatch any. The other interesting question is how they might react to human presence - the incubating bird did not have any reaction to me, but Coopers are known for being very aggressive towards human presence near the nest after chicks are hatched (although whether this holds in urban areas is sort of an open question).
Does anyone have an idea when incubation might have started? (Typical Coopers incubation period is approx. 34 days). Is there any previous history of nesting in the park?
No hawk or nest on April 5th so somewhere between the 5th and the 18th (first sighting). On April 30th, adult Cooper's Hawk flew out of nest and landed on a nearby tree branch to preen. Got a really great look at this big beauty!
Apparently, Yes there is a history of nesting in the park and this is the 4th or 5th year - past years 2 chicks have been sighted each year. So, I keep looking! Should be very soon!!! I might go take a look tomorrow.
Jo-Anne :)
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Monday update: Nope, still no baby hawks.
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If my Coopers last year are any guide, my guess is incubation started closer to the 18th than the 5th, so that could mean there's still some time to go before hatching. However, even after an eyas has hatched, it could be some time before it can actually be seen above the rim of the nest - depending on how much time you're spending observing, it might not be obvious there's a chick even if one has hatched. Of course if you see feeding behavior, that would be a real sign. The female will tend to sit higher to brood a hatched chick as well as continue to incubate any remaining eggs, but the change in position will be subtle and might be hard to discern from the ground.
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I dropped by the nest site again this morning and spent about an hour or so observing the nest and the area nearby - I did not see any strong indications of hatched chicks - I was able to see a number of shifts of position by the incubating (I assume) female - and she got up at one point and stood at the rim of the nest. Nice large female, mature adult (eye color).
I did catch the male flying in - unfortunately I haven't got a good feel for the patterns of this pair so I only caught him coming in from behind me out of the corner of my eye and missed whether there was any sign of a food delivery which might suggest a hatching. I was unable to even tell for sure if there was a simple nest exchange or whether the male arrived and left - you still can lose any sight of them when they shift position. However, based on my observations of my Coopers last year the male never delivered food directly to the nest during incubation (they never hatched any eggs) - all adult-adult food transfers were done off the nest. An adult landed in a tree close to the nest and then flew off again after a few minutes, but I don't have a good idea where they're active off the nest.
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Hi ostrich. Great write up - interesting reading! :) 8)
Thank You for the update.
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I dropped by the nest site again - I observed both adults during the time I was there - I'm not positive on identification of male vs female yet but the second adult (presumably male) arrived on the nest shortly after I arrived. Still no clear sign of anything other than incubation.
Both adults did indulge me with some extended looks at their plumage (incubating bird standing on the nest rim edge and preening for an extended period, and the other adult after arriving and leaving the nest, perching in a nearby tree about 30 ft away for a good 20-25 min). The bird in the tree (which I'm provisionally assuming to be the male) looked to have noticeable more rufous plumage on the upper and middle chest (both adults have a typical Coopers rufous and cream colored feathers on the chest, but in this case the upper chest is very strongly rufous, with somewhat more cream colored tone on the lower chest/upper belly). By contrast the bird on the nest (provisionally assumed to be female) also had more rufous tone on the upper/mid chest and more cream coloration towards the belly, but the overall tone throughout is noticeably less strongly rufous overall). The bird on the nest also had a small darker patch to the feathers on the lower right side of the belly, although I'm not positive this wasn't dirt and/or a leaf or branch in the way.
These characteristics may serve to distinguish the individuals if they can be consistently observed. The best way to confirm which is male and which is female would be based on size - although I think the difference in size is a bit less than my pair last year (my male was particularly small), the female will undoubtedly be visibly larger in size. However at this stage it may require some real luck to get an useful side by side view of them for comparison.
My male Coopers last year had a particular tree he would usually perch in when roosting near the nest - I don't know if the tree close to the nest the bird was in this evening could be a common and/or night roost area or not (when walking towards the nest along the path from Glen Erin, this tree would be in a direction at about 2 o clock relative to the nest (I think that is roughly eastward).
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I was able to see a number of shifts of position by the incubating (I assume) female - and she got up at one point and stood at the rim of the nest. Nice large female, mature adult (eye color).
Hi ostrich. I was there this morning from about 10:20am-11:20am. Observed the exact same behaviour that you have described above. While at rim of the nest, she decided to preen. Still haven't observed any feeding behaviour but think we're both going to see this very shortly! :D
Lots of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and squirrels at Maplewood Park today. At least a dozen Blue Jays squawking up a storm!, 3 Cardinals (2m, 1f), etc.
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Wednesday afternoon: female Cooper's sitting in nest, shifted positions a few times, no feeding behaviour observed.
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Do you have any tips to finding a Coopers nest? I know I have Red-tails, Turkey Vultures and Coopers nesting very close to my house but I cant find the nest. It is very hard to because there is no trail that goes to where I suspect the nests are.
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Hi Cody. Look fairly high up in trees, 20 feet or higher. Look for a mess of sticks like this ...
http://neighborhoodnature.files.wordpre ... est011.jpg (http://neighborhoodnature.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/april23-09nest011.jpg)
If possible, look from different areas and angles. The nest at Maplewood Park can be seen perfectly from some spots along the paved trail - a few feet later looking up, you wouldn't know it's there!
Usually the nests are fairly large. As mentioned in an earlier post by "ostrich", this particular nest is small and not as high up.
If you do end up finding the nest, look to see if you can see the hawk's tail sticking out over the edge. At first glance, you might just think it's a stick or twig but look for the rounded end/tip of the tail.
A couple of times, I thought the nest was empty - all of a sudden, the female hawk's head came poking up and looking around. Sometimes she climbs right up onto the rim of the nest - this is cool to see. 8)
Hope this helps a bit.
Jo-Anne :)
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Thursday update: This afternoon, male Cooper's sitting on rim of nest looking around. Still no feeding behaviour observed.
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Hi Cody. Look fairly high up in trees, 20 feet or higher. Look for a mess of sticks like this ...
http://neighborhoodnature.files.wordpre ... est011.jpg (http://neighborhoodnature.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/april23-09nest011.jpg)
If possible, look from different areas and angles. The nest at Maplewood Park can be seen perfectly from some spots along the paved trail - a few feet later looking up, you wouldn't know it's there!
Usually the nests are fairly large. As mentioned in an earlier post by "ostrich", this particular nest is small and not as high up.
If you do end up finding the nest, look to see if you can see the hawk's tail sticking out over the edge. At first glance, you might just think it's a stick or twig but look for the rounded end/tip of the tail.
A couple of times, I thought the nest was empty - all of a sudden, the female hawk's head came poking up and looking around. Sometimes she climbs right up onto the rim of the nest - this is cool to see. 8)
Hope this helps a bit.
Jo-Anne :)
Thanks!
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Cody ... You're welcome. :)
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I dropped by the nest a little after 5 pm, and shortly after I arrived there the male flew into the nest from the opposite direction (i.e. from the opposite direction if you were walking toward the nest from Glen Erin). I could see he was carrying almost certainly some kind of prey item in his talons (most likely some kind of deplumed passerine). He landed in the nest with it and left almost immediately. Further indications that he dropped off something were clear when the female then stood at the edge of the nest rim and was reaching down into the nest and making head and neck movements that would have been pulling at a food item. Unfortunately with the impossibility of seeing into the bowl from the ground what I couldn't directly see is what she was doing with the pieces (i.e consuming them herself or offering them to a hatched eyas). She was doing this for a period of 5-10 min.
This is, as we say, where the plot thickens...after presumably completing work on the food item, the female then flew off the nest and went off into the trees (couldn't keep track of exactly where she went). This was a bit surprising to me - it reminded me of what my female used to do last year after consuming a provided food item - she would usually feak on the tree branches, and would then invariably fly into a particular stand of pine trees before returning to the nest (to do what I don't know). If she was feeding an eyas and not consuming the prey herself I'm not sure why she would have left the nest. It's at this point I kind of lost track of who was where while walking around - a few minutes later an adult was back on the nest, but I don't know whether the female returned while I was looking around or whether the male switched off.
So this certainly looks fairly promising - until young can actually be seen it's probably impossible to be 100% sure of anything - theoretically the female could have been consuming the prey herself - but if so this pair are different than mine last year - with mine the female would always take food deliveries from the male for her off the nest (typically the male would land in a nearby tree and make a very short 'chip chip' beckoning call, at which point the female would fly off the nest and take the item, and consume it).
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Hi ostrich. I was there this afternoon and the female was sitting in the nest. That's about it. At the time, it was rainy weather.
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Do you have any tips to finding a Coopers nest? I know I have Red-tails, Turkey Vultures and Coopers nesting very close to my house but I cant find the nest. It is very hard to because there is no trail that goes to where I suspect the nests are.
Cody,
I don't know much about TV nests, but it will be harder (but certainly far from impossible) to locate an active nest now that the foliage has come in on the trees and we're well into spring. A really good time to go looking is early in the spring before any leaves have come in - existing nests or ones under construction will jump out from far away. I know of an active red-tail nest near me that can be seen literally from km away during the winter, but now you'd be really hard pressed to realize it's there.
I've come across some references that suggest Coopers tend to switch nest trees frequently - I don't know how true it is. For Coopers, you're looking for a stick nest that will be maybe about 40-60ft high usually (I'm guessing the one in Maplewood Park is about 50 ft up or so) - I would expect to find it in among a treed area (i.e. less likely in an isolated tree out in the open). Of course in urban areas what can be considered to constitute "treed" is somewhat different. I don't think they would build out along branches very often - much more likely to find the nest built into a crotch or spot partway up the trunk, where several branches come together to form a V. If you look at the Maplewood nest, it is this classic type.
RT nests would have a lot of similarities to the Coopers nests, but will be much much bigger. I would expect RTs to build more on the edges of a wooded area though - in the interior of a woods would be less likely. RTs in particular like at least one wide open path into the nest without branches or leaves in the way - the nest placement will reflect that.
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Hi ostrich. I was there this afternoon and the female was sitting in the nest. That's about it. At the time, it was rainy weather.
Yes I would imagine hunting and other activity would probably be lessened during inclement conditions - I don't really do a lot of general birdwatching of the common songbird/passerine species, so I'm not sure when their activity would be greatest. I'm guessing that it would be most likely to see prey deliveries whenever those birds are either becoming active/foraging, or perhaps when they would be tending to leave or return from roosting areas (accipiters like Coopers hawks like to surprise their prey and pursue them especially though wooded stands of trees and foliage)? Those of you who know the local passerines and the neighbourhood really well might be able to take some educated guesses at that.
This is all what makes observing these birds interesting - these patterns of behaviour are far beyond what you can find in basic references and facts about the species. I have only been able to observe one pair through only part of the process, so even experience gained from one pair of individuals may not always translate to another. I do think seeing food come to the nest is a stronger sign, especially if this keeps happening.
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Hi everyone.
Monday morning: female Hawk standing on rim of nest, looking down and around inside the nest. Behaviour/body language that followed: regurgitating. She then hopped down into the nest and was tilting forward a couple of spots inside the nest. Feeding babies?
:D
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Hi everyone.
Monday morning: female Hawk standing on rim of nest, looking down and around inside the nest. Behaviour/body language that followed: regurgitating. She then hopped down into the nest and was tilting forward a couple of spots inside the nest. Feeding babies?
:D
Bird Brain,
Accipiters (and raptors in general) do not feed young by regurgitation of already consumed food, so this couldn't have been what the adult was doing. If it looked like the adult was "gagging" or "retching", it is possible it was doing what is termed casting, which is egesting indigestible parts (hair, etc) of food the adult had previously consumed. I would expect the adult wouldn't allow the casting to go into the nest though.
The adults will be feeding any young food directly off prey items brought to the nest - for Coopers I don't know for sure whether they would be generally be feeding everything that is brought in immediately on delivery, or whether they might keep leftover unconsumed prey and feed from these items at later times (I have seen that on other raptor nests - eagles do this extensively for example). In either case though you should see indications of the adult pulling small pieces from the food item in order to provide them to the young (at the age they would be the eyasses would be unable to rip/tear prey themselves).
I got to the nest this morning about 8am (I was actually hoping to get there really early close to dawn, but I didn't succeed in that). The female was up and standing/preening for quite a bit of the time that I was there, but there were no deliveries of food during that time. Even when she was sitting though, she seemed to be sitting noticeably higher in the nest that I have seen previously (I could consistently see her head and frequently her eyes above the edge of the nest rim, which you couldn't see a week ago). That might be an indication of a different sitting position, and an interesting indicator. Only continuing to watch and wait will tell.
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If it looked like the adult was "gagging" or "retching"
Yes, that's exactly what it looked like - first time I've seen her doing this behaviour.
Jo-Anne
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That would be casting then. If you've ever seen pictures of owl castings then these ones would be similar although owls tend to cast a lot more than hawks of this kind I think, because owls tend to swallow whole while the hawks rip tear most of the prey into smaller pieces. Accipiters I imagine would also tend to not have to cast as often because they usually completely deplume or de-fur their prey before bringing them to the nest or consuming them. If you're walking around the park and the surrounding area, you may keep your eyes open for a "butcher's block" - this is often a branch or tree stump where they will deplume prey - the presence of a lot of feathers and other similar remains on the ground may indicate such a spot. I don't think it necessarily has to be nearby the nest though.
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Hi everyone. This afternoon, the female hawk is sitting very high up in the nest plus looking down and around in the nest quite often. All of a sudden, she spotted me and was giving MAJOR Evil Eye! :shock: Decided to walk further along the paved trail and focus on butterflies and dragonflies for awhile.
ostrich ... I will keep my eyes open for a "butcher's block"!
Jo-Anne :)
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Do you have any tips to finding a Coopers nest? I know I have Red-tails, Turkey Vultures and Coopers nesting very close to my house but I cant find the nest. It is very hard to because there is no trail that goes to where I suspect the nests are.
Cody,
I don't know much about TV nests, but it will be harder (but certainly far from impossible) to locate an active nest now that the foliage has come in on the trees and we're well into spring. A really good time to go looking is early in the spring before any leaves have come in - existing nests or ones under construction will jump out from far away. I know of an active red-tail nest near me that can be seen literally from km away during the winter, but now you'd be really hard pressed to realize it's there.
I've come across some references that suggest Coopers tend to switch nest trees frequently - I don't know how true it is. For Coopers, you're looking for a stick nest that will be maybe about 40-60ft high usually (I'm guessing the one in Maplewood Park is about 50 ft up or so) - I would expect to find it in among a treed area (i.e. less likely in an isolated tree out in the open). Of course in urban areas what can be considered to constitute "treed" is somewhat different. I don't think they would build out along branches very often - much more likely to find the nest built into a crotch or spot partway up the trunk, where several branches come together to form a V. If you look at the Maplewood nest, it is this classic type.
RT nests would have a lot of similarities to the Coopers nests, but will be much much bigger. I would expect RTs to build more on the edges of a wooded area though - in the interior of a woods would be less likely. RTs in particular like at least one wide open path into the nest without branches or leaves in the way - the nest placement will reflect that.
Thanks for the information!
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I was at the nest last night at about 7pm for about 45 min - nothing other than female sitting, but she is sitting high all the time now.
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Saturday, 1-2pm: female hawk sitting very high in nest. All of a sudden, she got up, was tearing at something then tilting down into the nest focused on a couple of specific spots. It struck me that this appeared to be a feeding behaviour but still can't see the babies! At one point, thought I saw a head - but, No ... it was a leaf! :lol: (darn it, I was so excited!) Female hawk was then standing upright in nest, looking down and around in the nest quite quickly as if following some sort of movement.
:D
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Good luck finding the young!
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What you are describing is certainly very consistent with feeding of young - that is exactly how they would be doing so at this stage. Based on everything that's been seen and reported, I'm pretty confident there are young in there - only waiting and watching for a sighting will confirm 100%. It might take some time before they can be seen though - it's hard to say how deep that nest bowl is, but it could be quite deep.
I'm not sure to what degree posting images is okay here, but I'll post a couple of shots I took of the female a few days back. If these are too large I can post smaller versions:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4653344156_b3355485b7_o.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4653344620_ee8010405c_o.jpg)
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ostrich ... great photos!!! :D
I was looking at the nest long and hard on Saturday to the point my eyes and neck were getting sore. :shock:
One of these days, we will see the babies!
Jo-Anne :)
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Wednesday afternoon: female hawk sitting high up in nest.
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I confirmed eyasses this evening - I don't know how many there are, I'd assume at least two which would be typical for Coopers, but it's hard to tell. I arrived at the nest at dusk and when I arrived the female was already pulling at a prey item (the item was not visible but she was making obvious pulling movements at a food item). I couldn't see what she was doing with the food at first, but it didn't take long watching before I could see something white moving in the bowl several times.
The feeding appeared to be going on for quite some minutes - I also walked around to the side of the nest and caught one eyas standing near the rim - it let off a poop shot at me. They are quite comical to watch when they get ready to "shoot" - looks like a cannon getting ready to fire. :P Actually I was pretty sure that there were chicks up there even before seeing anything - looking up at the nest I could see splatters of white mutes just on the tree trunk and on the sticks not far under the rim - these would have come from young chicks when they're pretty small and can't "shoot" very far. The adults would normally slice off the nest, or at the very least the slices would end up well away from the bowl.
I was quite surprised how big the one I got a good look at looked - it seemed almost a 1/3rd the size of the adult - so they've undoubtedly been down there for a while as I suspected. It was getting dark though so the eyes might play tricks.
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I confirmed eyasses this evening
Awesome!!! :D
I also walked around to the side of the nest and caught one eyas standing near the rim - it let off a poop shot at me. They are quite comical to watch when they get ready to "shoot" - looks like a cannon getting ready to fire. :P
:lol:
Jo-Anne :)
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I dropped by the nest about 5:30pm and observed for about half an hour - there were no feedings and just the female sitting on the nest, but I did get several more good views of a chick popping its head up high enough to be seen over the rim beside the adult. I'm hoping if there is more than one they'll make themselves visible at the same time so they can be counted.
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Yippee, Monday 5:30pm ... "mom" hawk feeding one baby - got a great look at the baby's head, high above rim of nest! Super cute. :D
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I dropped by the nest yesterday around 8:30pm - didn't get as good a look at any of the chicks, although I did see one pop its head up a bit a couple of times. The adult was standing up very straight near the edge most of the time.
The male was in the woods nearby shortly after that and was making very loud kek-kek-kek calls (typical Coopers hawk call). The female took off of the nest and flew into the woods - I decided to walk through the woods and try to find her - this is often a food transfer. I saw one hawk fly shortly after but I think that may have been the male leaving again. When I made my way back to the nest after a few minutes she was back up there so I missed her coming back.
I'm confused though as to whether the male made a food transfer that she consumed or whether she brought something back to the nest. Someone who walked by when I returned to the nest said someone else there had seen her returning with something in her talons and that she had been feeding the chick(s), but there was no sign of that by the time I got back. So I'm not sure. When my male last year would return to the nest area he would make a much shorter and softer 'chip chip' call rather than the loud kek-kek-kek.
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We were there this evening, saw the food transfer and confirm that there are 3 in the nest (2 pretty active and the other one was not so active). Mom was sitting on the edge of the nest all the time, then we heard the 1st loud call, maybe dad saw us and didn't drop by, while I was exploring the area, heard dad call again and my husband point out where he laid the food, mom flew right above my husband head, went to get the food and they did their little dance "dad on top". Afterwards, dad took off, mom return to the nest and feed the chicks.
After a while, one of the chick turn around and went almost to the edge of the nest.....and I am glad I keep my distance, otherwise I would get hit by "something"
:P
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there are 3 in the nest
cocosally ... I'm thrilled to read this! So far, I've only seen one but could tell by the mom's behaviour that more were in the nest.
After a while, one of the chick turn around and went almost to the edge of the nest.....and I am glad I keep my distance, otherwise I would get hit by "something"
:P
:lol:
Today between 12:30-1:00pm, one large baby sitting right on the rim of the nest taking a look around. I wonder when he/she is going to start flying?
No sign of mom or dad hawk.
Wish I had a camera! :)
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was there again at around 8:35am. There's another lady there taking photos of babies, she told me that there's 4 in the nest and mom/dad was feeding. They grown so quick!! but so lovely to see them. :)
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Sunday afternoon, 2:15-2:30pm ... one small baby sitting in nest, mom hawk on branch nearby giving everyone and everything the "evil eye"!
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The estimated number of hawklets seems to be steadily growing :D. In general, I tend to be a touch cautious about jumping to conclusions, unless someone can say they definitively saw four separate heads simultaneously, as it's all too easy to get fooled by movement in the nest. However this afternoon I got quite a good show - the female had a food delivery on top of one of the lamp posts along the path down from the nest - shortly thereafter she was on the nest feeding. I definitely got a clear look at at least three hawklets - after the feeding was done two of them stood right up on the nest rim and were very visible - there is a lot of secondary down still on the head and breast, but they look like they're grown fast - I could clearly see substantial development in the primaries, secondaries, and rectrices. At least 3 of them were also up and flapping at different points - that will be something they'll be doing over the next couple of weeks preparing for fledging. I am also indeed pretty sure, maybe not 100% but close, that I saw a 4th hawklet in there (but was on the other side of the bowl from where I was standing and was harder to see).
I have shot the nest, but my telephoto lens is too slow to shoot effectively in overcast conditions like today - and with the sun setting in the west I think you pretty much have to be shooting in early morning to have a chance at getting decent results. You just don't get sufficient light in the late afternoon/early evening.
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Today (Tuesday), 12:30-1:00pm ... I definitely sighted 3 baby hawks! :D
Baby #1: very large, much darker colouring/plumage, very active and restless. It appears that he/she is itching to fly! At one point, was sitting on the rim of the nest having a good scratch.
Baby #2: medium size.
Baby #3: small size.
Jo-Anne :)
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Today (Tuesday), 12:30-1:00pm ... I definitely sighted 3 baby hawks! :D
Baby #1: very large, much darker colouring/plumage, very active and restless. It appears that he/she is itching to fly! At one point, was sitting on the rim of the nest having a good scratch.
Baby #2: medium size.
Baby #3: small size.
Jo-Anne :)
I believe t#1 is a "she", in raptor's world, a "she" is bigger!
So lovely to know that they aroound, thanks for the update ^_^
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I dropped by at about 8pm last night and there was one hawklet standing up on one side, and the others were down in the bowl, but no adults (the female seems to perch on branches beside the nest now that they're getting a lot bigger). I may have missed a feeding, as the one standing looked to have a big crop. Shortly after that the female arrived with food and started feeding (again?). Two of them seemed to be less interested, perhaps already having eaten while she seemed to be feeding the others down in the bowl. If the female is now helping to provision that's bad news for a lot of birds out there, and maybe a squirrel or cottontail or two. The female looked to have a sizable crop as well.
Every time I've gone recently either in the early morning or close to sunset I've seen feedings - this seems to be a good time for captures.
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I definitely got a clear look at at least three hawklets - . I am also indeed pretty sure, maybe not 100% but close, that I saw a 4th hawklet in there (but was on the other side of the bowl from where I was standing and was harder to see).
Hey Ostrich, I just read your post and I am inclined to agree. I was there yesterday photographing the nest and at one point I am so sure another head popped up. It only appeared the one time and I did not have a chance to get a clear shot of all 4 but I'm sure there is 4 chicks.
Jo-Anne!! I missed you by half an hour.. :( I'll meet you one of these days.
I posted a few photos of the nest. It is hard to photograph given its location and the lighting. But I'd thought I'd throw in a few photos.
Meghan
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Jo-Anne!! I missed you by half an hour.. :(
Arrgh! :shock:
I'll meet you one of these days.
We definitely will. :D
I posted a few photos of the nest. It is hard to photograph given its location and the lighting. But I'd thought I'd throw in a few photos.
Meghan
I just took a look at them. Wow! 8) So thrilling, especially as it's my first time seeing baby hawks in the wild!
It's been really great reading all the updates from ostrich and cocosally in this thread!
Jo-Anne :D
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I was at the nest last evening after 8 and the hawklets were hunkered down for the most part, it was pretty windy out and they seemed to be content to stay down in the bowl. However sometime after 8:30 the female showed up with food, although it looked to be a quite short feeding. But I did get a good look at the 4 separate heads all lined up across the bowl above the rim.
If you want to see food deliveries, being at the nest close to dusk like this seems to be a very consistent pattern - I think this must have to do with them taking advantage of passerines moving to evening roosting areas (I'd imagine the opposite probably happens in the mornings, but I don't have the opportunity to watch the nest most mornings).
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we were there this evening and they grow so quick, can clearly see 3 active one and the little one is still in the nest!
Dad transfer food twice while we were there and take a good look at mom and dad as well. :D
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It's been really great reading all the updates from ostrich and cocosally in this thread!
Jo-Anne :D
Jo-Anne, you are welcome, I am also really excited to see them in wild, hopefully we will see them next year ^_^
I love to watch them, my husband love to take photos.
(Please feel free to look at flickr for Hawk's photos)
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Last night at about 6pm there was a feeding underway and all four chicks were pretty active - a couple standing up on the sides and flapping, and the others popping up from time to time. I think there two of the hawklets are noticeably ahead in development than the other two - the likely eldest one has lost nearly all down now and the brown streaking on the breast typical of the juvenile Coopers is starting to become visible. The development of the rectrices may also provide a decent indication of development - none of them are as long as the adults, but it seems to me the oldest one's is noticeably longer.
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Breaking news: I witnessed one of the young fledge this evening around 7:30pm or so - fledging is really more of a process with stages than a single event, so it was really more of an extended branching than a full fledge, but it made it's way out of the nest and into the nearby branches. It initially flapped its way up out of the bowl and up onto a branch somewhat above and probably 20-25 feet to the right of the bowl, and subsequently flapped over to different branches close to the nest tree from there.
The other hawklets look like they are coming around too - one still has a fair amount of white down, but they are all getting true genuine plumage - there was a feeding going on when I first arrived and at least a couple of them had visible crops. The adult hadn't returned by the time I left though.
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ostrich, Thanks for the update, was going to stop by this evening, but need to OT, didn't make it, otherwise will witness this glory time! :o
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ostrich ... that is really excellent and exciting news, what a great observation!!! :D 8)
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ostrich ... that is really excellent and exciting news, what a great observation!!! :D 8)
I agree, I'll be heading up there again very soon.
Thanks for the update
Meghan
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I dropped by about 8:30pm or so and I managed to see 3 hawklets still in the nest, and after a bit I was able to find the fledged one on a branch up above the nest. It flapped its way to another branch in another nearby tree shortly after, so I'm not sure if it's coming back to the nest at other times, but seems to be perching in the nearby trees at least. I didn't see any adults before I left.
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(Please feel free to look at flickr for Hawk's photos)
Wow, I just took a look at all the hawk photos - those are excellent! :D
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(Please feel free to look at flickr for Hawk's photos)
Wow, I just took a look at all the hawk photos - those are excellent! :D
Thank you Bird Brain ^_^ please see the following post!!!
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I dropped by about 8:30pm or so and I managed to see 3 hawklets still in the nest, and after a bit I was able to find the fledged one on a branch up above the nest. It flapped its way to another branch in another nearby tree shortly after, so I'm not sure if it's coming back to the nest at other times, but seems to be perching in the nearby trees at least. I didn't see any adults before I left.
Ostrich! After you left today, we stay there until 900pm. This is what happened: ( I guess it's worthwhile for me to have 4 bites from mosquito!!!)
All the way we see one in the nest, and I was checking around with no luck, at around 6:30-6:45pm, my husband spot one hawlet high up on the tree branch where the nest is and cover it's face with leaves!
Then we saw 2 in the nests.........and at around 7:00pm to 7:15pm, heard the call, and mom came back, feeding time!!!
after the 1st feeding time, all of them were active and guess what! The 3rd in the nest as well! we confirmed a full house!!
Then they started cleaning their feather, doing a lot of stretching, flipping and I have the honor to view 2 of them flying short distances, one just kind of hopping / try to flying between tree branches! The one that fly a longer distance (from one tree to another tree) was teasing/encouraging the one in the nest ( the little one in the nest was just hopping up and down in the nest), every time the one fly for a longer distance , he /she make the noise and teasing/try to encourage the one in the nest to fly.
The second one also make it quite a distance but have trouble balacing! I was so afraid that he/she will drop right to me because it he/she was actually right above me!
The third one only hopping/flipping up and down tree branches while the 4th one just doing it in the nest!
Then mom came back for a second round of feeding (heard the call) and those near the nest get a good feed, the one that was on a distanced tree branch realised that food is ready and flew back but mom is gone and posting for us, she came to an open area that we get a really good look of her and took some pictures. After about 15 mintes she flew again.
After the second feeding they are pretty active on trying to fly with the 4th one still doing it in the nest! And the highlight of the day is:
Dad and one hawklets on a tree branch like twins! standing next to each other and we have a good look, while other 2 in the nest, and one on the tree branch next to the nest!! so we see 5 all together at one time (too bad mom is not there!) :D
My husband has uploaded some Hawklets photos, more to come!!!!
By the way, the most active time for them (from our observation) should be around 7pm onwards!
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I dropped by briefly yesterday but it started raining not too long after I got there so I didn't stay long - however all 4 of the young were present and accounted for - 3 of them in the nest (although I think one initially might have been up on a branch and then hopped back down to the bowl), and the other perched on a branch just above the nest. The two I got a good look at had a good bulge in their crops so maybe there was a meal before I arrived. I didn't see either of the adults though.
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I dropped by the nest last night and it looks like all four have fledged - there was only the female in the nest eating something and none of the young were in there - if they were in the nest I'm sure they would have been making an appearance for the food. I couldn't spot any in the trees nearby although they can hide up in those leaves pretty well - they're probably close by.
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Today, 11:30am ... for the first time, I finally sighted all 4 babies! :D
Baby #1 (large): sitting on branch above nest.
Baby #2 (medium/large): sitting on branch above nest.
Baby #3 (medium): sitting on rim of nest then up and walking around.
Baby #4 (small): sitting on rim of nest then sitting in nest.
All 4 are looking very alert, happy, healthy and well fed!
Jo-Anne :)
p.s. - my mom has been looking at 5 Cooper's Hawk babies at Riverwood Park.
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Today, 11:30am ... for the first time, I finally sighted all 4 babies! :D
Baby #1 (large): sitting on branch above nest.
Baby #2 (medium/large): sitting on branch above nest.
Baby #3 (medium): sitting on rim of nest then up and walking around.
Baby #4 (small): sitting on rim of nest then sitting in nest.
All 4 are looking very alert, happy, healthy and well fed!
Jo-Anne :)
p.s. - my mom has been looking at 5 Cooper's Hawk babies at Riverwood Park.
It's good to know they are still around, we also confirm the 5 Coopers Hawk at Riverwood Park, we were there at around 7:15pm, all 4 of them appear at the same time, on 2 different trees next to each other, each of them still have some down either on their heads or on their bodies, one of them tried to prick those down with their beak ^_^
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I spotted three of the juveniles this evening around 7pm - two were perched side by side on a branch about 25 feet from the nest tree, and a third was perched on a branch just beside the nest. The fourth one I wasn't able to find but I assume was around somewhere. No adults around, just the young ones waiting for the nest meal I assume.
One I noticed is pretty distinctive in its coloration - it has a really dark rufous head, very prominent compared to the others.
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Today, 10:30am ... "empty nest" - no babies, mom or dad hawk anywhere to be seen.
The whole park was quiet today with the exception of one male Cardinal singing up a storm! plus lots of Cicadas.
Jo-Anne :)
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Today, 10:30am ... "empty nest" - no babies, mom or dad hawk anywhere to be seen.
The whole park was quiet today with the exception of one male Cardinal singing up a storm! plus lots of Cicadas.
Jo-Anne :)
Jo-Anne, Thanks for your update, I think they are gone already, hopefully we will see one of them coming back to make a new nest ^_^
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Bird Brain, how long were you at the nest without sighting anyone? I've been dropping by the nest occasionally, and I saw hawklets around both Tuesday and Thursday last week. On Tuesday I am pretty sure all four were around (I only spotted 3 at once, but they were flitting around a lot from tree to tree and branch to branch but from the vocalizations I think all of them were up there. On Thursday I thought I could only see or hear two for sure, so I thought they might be starting to disperse. But the last few times I've gone I've often been unable to see them up in the high branches or in the other areas of the woods around the nest, but if I wait for a while until they start vocalizing they're much easier to find.
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ostrich ... a short visit from 10:30am until about 11am. A very quiet 1/2 hour on Saturday. It was a very odd feeling looking at the nest and not seeing any of the babies in/on the nest or nearby branches.
Jo-Anne
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If you didn't hear any vocalizations in that time maybe they have dispersed :( They're very loud and noticeable when they start calling - a few times I'd hear one start and then the others would be calling from all over the woods.
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Thrilling morning from 8-9am ... all 4 babies flying around the South end of the park, landing on branches, standing on grass by fence, trying to catch squirrels - and having no luck.
All 4 were flying through the woods, screeching and squawking plus making sounds similar to a human mumbling & grumbling. Beautiful streaking and gorgeous eyes!
Baby #1 "The Big One" was perched on a branch out in the open and closed her eyes to have a nap. I truly wish I had a camera!
Baby #2 standing on grass right next to a squirrel. The squirrel reached out with it's paw and swatted the hawk! The hawk took off. This has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen happen out in nature! :lol:
Baby #3 and Baby #4 flying around in the woods having fun.
It makes me feel great to see them all doing so well - all are very happy and healthy!
Jo-Anne :D
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Jo-Anne,
thank you so much for your update! it's thrilled to know that they are still around, healthy and active ^_^
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cocosally ... it was really great seeing and hearing them! I would have stayed longer but was getting eaten alive by mosquitos! :shock: Arrgh.
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cocosally ... it was really great seeing and hearing them! I would have stayed longer but was getting eaten alive by mosquitos! :shock: Arrgh.
haha! Last time I was there...I feed so many mosquito, it only attack me but not my husband...and I an somehow allergic to some mosquito bite (don't know why I am allergic to some but not all) my palm and my index finger was swollen! But I still think it's worthwhile to go see those Hawklets and Parents hawks!
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This morning at 8am, all 4 baby hawks flying around South end of the park, shrieking and squawking. Afterwards ...
Baby #1 (large) and Baby #4 (small) sitting on a branch.
Baby #3 (medium) sitting at top of bare tree.
Baby #2 (medium-large) sitting in the crook of a tree, tearing at something, gulping pieces of meat and then a long string of ... intestines? (blech!)