Two Big Hawks, Sittin' in a Tree...

The other day we were taking a walk on a trail through some woods nearby, when a red-shouldered hawk landed on a tree nearby.

Then we noticed another hawk on the same tree - we had stumbled onto a hawk nest!

Two red-shouldered hawks and their nest

Red-shouldered hawks are monogamous and often mate for life.  A pair of hawks usually nest in the same territory every year, sometimes even re-using a previous nest.  The mother lays 2 to 4 eggs (usually 3), which will hatch after about a month.

Red-shouldered hawks have a reputation for being one of the most vocal types of hawks (which explains how often we hear them).  They are named for a reddish-brown patch on their shoulder, which we could not see since we were below them.  From below, they are more easily identified by thin white bars on their tail.

Hawks aggressively defend their territory while nesting.  One of the hawks came over and perched above us.

 

He stayed there for quite awhile, possibly checking us out...

before deciding that everything was okay and flying off.

What beautiful birds!  Maybe come spring we'll see some little hawklings in the area.. wouldn't that be a sight to see (though I'm sure my backyard feeder birds would disagree!)

Some other sort of large bird circling over our house - maybe a turkey vulture?

On a related note, there are several bald eagle nests located near a lake not too far away.  One nest is set up with a live video feed, and the pair of eagles that nest there have just had a couple babies hatch a couple weeks ago.  If you would like to find out more about the bald eagles and their chicks and get a close up view, check out the Jordan Lake Eagle Cam.  I've enjoyed watching them!