[Umpqua Birds] Re: Red-tail hawks mating behavior......
- From: Mark Hamm <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:28:41 -0500
Very interesting. What an incredible thing to see Rick. Elva, would different
species do this? I mean like a Harrier and RTHA?
Mark
________________________________________
From: umpquabirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [umpquabirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Elva Paulson [elvapaulson@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2014 2:26 AM
To: umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Umpqua Birds] Re: Red-tail hawks mating behavior......
HI rick,
We have seen this behavior. I used to think it was courting behavior, but
according to Cornell's "Birds of North America Online' (subscription required)
it is aggression i.e. getting rid of the interloper. Usually the birds part
before hitting the ground, although sometimes is seems more like a crash
landing. Other raptors do it too.
Copulation takes place on a perch. I've also seen that several times.
Elva Paulson
Roseburg
On Feb 27, 2014, at 8:28 PM, Rick Foster wrote:
Hopefully I don't get scolded too harshly, reprimanded or banished from Douglas
County because even though this post is about birds...it's about birds in a
different county and contains inferences of sexual activity that was witnessed
but not definitively seen !!!! I work in Norway (Coos County) in a small custom
sawmill as a sawyer. Being on the edge of Coquille Valley, I get to see quite a
few raptors as they try to utilize the thermals even when they doesn't appear
to be any. I can turn around from my 52" circle saw and have a very good view
of the surrounding valley. Today I saw a pair of Red-tail hawks (RTHA) circling
above which they have been doing all week. Then a 3rd one joined in and I
assumed they were searching for food which may have been an erroneous
assumption, but as I wondered why they would all be circling in such a small
area, I briefly looked away (I was supposed to be sawing logs lol), and when I
looked back up 2 of them had joined together by their talons and were spinning
rapidly downwards. My first impression was 2 ice skaters holding hands and
spinning faster and faster in a circular fashion until they are just a
blur.....which actually makes no sense to me since I don't watch figure skating
during the Winter Olympics. But it was an amazing sight as they were descending
and spinning faster and faster.....when I am sure I could imagine the male
saying "I would love to cuddle longer but we better separate soon before we
crash onto that unit of 2 X 6 boards below us". Okay - maybe a bit too much
anthropomorphizing...but whatever their thoughts they separated. Since I was
supposed to be sawing - I had no Binocs with me plus my notoriously poor
eyesight, so I never actually saw any copulation going on but there was
definitely no hostile or aggressive looking behavior by either of them...they
just went their own way and slowly gained altitude again. I lost track of the
3rd one and eventually the 2 main players as they slowly moved
eastward.....towards Douglas
County<090102~1.GIF><http://www.incredimail.com/app/?tag=emoticon_click_me_im2_re&lang=9&version=6295181&setup_id=7&aff_id=100&addon=IncrediMail&upn=70a5bca4-972e-4686-bd0f-e45f693ef6f7&app_test_id=0&id=95202&guid=D88FFB4C-0E05-4B15-8811-14F8812810F7><090102~1.GIF><http://www.incredimail.com/app/?tag=emoticon_click_me_im2_re&lang=9&version=6295181&setup_id=7&aff_id=100&addon=IncrediMail&upn=70a5bca4-972e-4686-bd0f-e45f693ef6f7&app_test_id=0&id=95202&guid=D88FFB4C-0E05-4B15-8811-14F8812810F7><090102~1.GIF><http://www.incredimail.com/app/?tag=emoticon_click_me_im2_re&lang=9&version=6295181&setup_id=7&aff_id=100&addon=IncrediMail&upn=70a5bca4-972e-4686-bd0f-e45f693ef6f7&app_test_id=0&id=95202&guid=D88FFB4C-0E05-4B15-8811-14F8812810F7>
This is the second time I have witnessed this activity from RTHA's - the first
being in the middle 1970's when I was a novice birder (I know many of you think
of me as still a novice birder, but I have it on good authority that I am at
least advanced beginner lol), and we were in the Anza Borrego Desert east of
San Diego. That time also included 3 RTHA's but that time I actually saw two of
them come together, one of them flipped backside down and talons up and the
second one moved effortlessly above it as they joined talons also. The main
difference then was they just kind of did a free fall, no spinning like these 2
today did. I don't recall how far the free fall was since I had nothing to
gauge it against but they eventually separated and continued with their
circling.
Now for my 2 questions: Has anyone else seen this behavior with RTHA's or other
raptors? Would it be wrong for me to conclude that I was observing mating
behavior?
Rick Foster
Myrtle Point
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