FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Re: Hawk with Nesting Material?

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger Mayhorn and Bristol Area Birders:

I would suspect that the hawks were carrying conifer sprigs to decorate the
rim of this breeding season's nest.  We have climbed to Red-tailed Hawk nest
in the region which had pine and hemlock sprigs.  I remember a big nest in
Scott County, VA which had hemlock and there was not a conifer in sight as
we surveyed the surrounding woodlot and ridges from the nest.

Red-tails are busy with their nesting season.  On Sunday, Rack Cross, Sammy
Cross and myself were hawk trapping and banding in Washington County, VA and
saw six Red-tails.  To the best of my memory they were in pairs.  Pairs have
been establishing a closer relationship since January.  We had our hawk trap
set on two of those Red-tails at the same time.  They were perched within 50
feet in adjacent treetops.  We also noted that at sundown Red-tails were
perched together going to roost together at Green Springs.

Yes.  Red-tails have nests at this time.  Older established pairs will use
the same nest for two or three years or so if it isn't confiscated by a pair
of Great Horned Owls.  So nest keeping mainly means just marking the nest
either to let others know it is occupied or as part of their sexual ritual.

The nest, whether just touched up or built from scratch, is frequently ready
in mid to late February and early March.  The Red-tailed nest is usually
ready a good three to four weeks before the eggs are laid.   We likely have
well over a hundred nests in the region which are in some stage of
readiness.  So this reminds us that building a nest usually doesn't often
happen within days before the Red-tails lay.  As far north as Wisconsin nest
building has been known as early as January.  Arthur Cleveland Bent wrote
back in the 1930's that sometimes Red-tails would make several nests ready
and decorate them with greenery before one of those was choosen to become
the nest for egg laying.

This is not too early in the breeding season.  Rack posted on Bristol Birds
Net
Feb. 7 that we witnessed a pair of mating kestrels copulating on a powerline
just outside of Bristol, TN off Cave Hill Road.

We have almost no experience with Red-shouldered Hawk nesting in this
region.  I have seen maybe a dozen or more active nests and most of those
elsewhere.  This species does not nest in much of Southwest Virginia.  As
far as we can tell,  its nesting distribution is restricted to the coalfield
counties west of the Clinch Mountains.  Most of the area east of the Clinch
in Southwest Virginia is in the Upper Holston River drainage.  We know
almost nothing about this species nesting in the Upper Holston drainage.  We
don't know why this is so.  I have often wondered if it was not a function
of water on the many stripmined benches and the associated vegetation in the
coalfields.  Perhaps something similar to what attracts Northern Harriers
and Short-eared Owls to that region in the winter.

I think it is very much in the realm of possibility to find nest building by
these two hawk species at this time of the year.

You might want to keep in mind as you go that both northern Red-tailed Hawks
and Red-shouldered Hawks are migrating thru our area at this date.  Our
sedentary Red-tails proably stay on an annual range here.  We have noticed
several times on Burke's Garden BBC winter trips in late February that
migrating Red-tails will fly in along the mountains heading north.
Frequently a local bird on breeding territory will fly up to challenge it
and drive it further on to the north.  Sometimes both birds of the pair will
soar togther in this encounter with the third bird as it is driven away.  We
saw that happen about three times on one BBC trip to Burke's Garden.

Red-shouldered Hawks, which frequent moist habitats and beaver ponds,
reparian areas and such, use many upland sites during February as they
migrate.  We trappped and banded one from the edge of a pasture and
cornfield at Piney Flats in Sullivan Co.  We frequently see them in more dry
pastures up to 3000 feet elevation or so in Shady Valley, Johnson Co.   We
get this species almost every year in winter at 2,800 feet elevation in
Shady Valley and on the Christmas counts.  We also get a few on Christmas
counts at lower elevations and some winters we see several Red-shouldreds
throughout the winter in our lower elevations.  Chris O'Bryan has already
reported a Red-shouldred in an upland situation in Shady Valley this month.
Only one nesting record is known from Shady Valley.  They are not otherwise
seen there as the nesting season advances.

I hope this helps a little.

Let's go birding...

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN


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