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Subject:

Red-shoulders in love?

From:

Carrol Cowan

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 05:01:30 +0000

Just before 11:00 this morning (1/15/05), a Red-shouldered hawk went screaming by my window in Georgetown, so of course I had to go check it out.  It wasn't the repetitive "keer-keer-keer," but a more insistent & drawn out call.  When I looked out from the roof of my building, I saw the hawk perched in the nearest tall tree, still calling occassionally and turning its head, looking in every direction.  

I thought I heard another hawk, and scanned the sky to see -- a Turkey Vulture circling high to the west.  Then I noticed, lower & closer, a buteo.  R-s #2 tucked its wings and glided in to perch in the next tall tree over from R-s #1, probably 50' away from the first.

But by now I was sure I heard 3 hawks calling.  Sure enough, R-s #3 flew in from the east - the same direction #1 had come from - and lit in the same tree as #1, lower in the tree.  R-s #3 was the most colorful of the three.

R-s #2 immediately high-tailed it out of there, flying to the SW with steady wingbeats until it was out of sight.  R-s #3 then cruised over to the tree where #2 had been, followed by #1; #1 perched higher in the tree, above #3.

My impression is that R-s #1 was larger and duller than both #2 & #3, but I didn't get as good a look at #2 as it was a bit farther away & didn't stay around so long.

Pretty soon #1 & #3 both glided off low toward the west, one after the other (I'm not sure which left first, if it matters).

So Denise, there's certainly more than one Red-shouldered Hawk around Rock Creek in DC!

--
Carrol Cowan
Washington DC
arielamcATatt.net