JKNatureGallery.com
2009 Red-Tailed Hawk News
Archive April 1, 2009 - April 30, 2009
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April 1: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-48, Lo-42, Overcast, light rain.
April 2: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-63, Lo-45, Partly cloudy.
April 3: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-65, Lo-48, Mostly cloudy, breezy.
April 4: Mama continues her nesting duty. A Cooper's Hawk was chasing Papa early this afternoon in the central section of
Papa's territory. There may be a Cooper's Hawk nest nearby we will try searching the area to see if can be spotted.
Weather data: Hi-60, Lo-48, Mostly cloudy, windy.
April 5: Today is the 29th day of nesting for Mama and Papa. This afternoon Mama appears to be sitting higher in her nest
in a slightly different position in the nest bowl. There may have been at least one hatch at this point making her alter her
position in the nest slightly. Weather data: Hi-66, Lo-46, Few clouds.
April 6: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-58, Lo-44, Rain, fog and mist.
April 7: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-49, Lo-40, Mostly cloudy and breezy.
April 8: Today Mama is sitting even higher in the nest bowl late this afternoon than she was on Sunday indicating that
more of her eggs have probably hatched. Today is day 32 sitting in her nest. Weather data: Hi-50, Lo-36, Light AM snow,
mostly cloudy and breezy.
April 9: Papa was sitting on a lamppost very near his family this afternoon as Mama continues to sit on the nest. Weather
data: Hi-59, Lo-37, Few clouds, breezy late.
April 10: Late this morning Papa was giving Mama a break as he took care of nest duties. Mama was nearby sitting on an
apartment building antenna with a good view of her family. Weather data: Hi-56, Lo-41, Overcast, light rain late.
April 11: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-53, Lo-45, Rain, fog, mist with rain ending
becoming overcast in the late afternoon.
April 12: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-50, Lo-37, Fair and breezy.
April 13: Late this morning Papa was sitting on top of a building just Southeast of his nest. Later in the afternoon he was
hunting in the central section of his territory for about 20 minutes. He was very active as he explored all the different trees
in the area, we weren't able to see if he captured a meal prior to his leaving the area. Weather data: Hi-58, Lo-35, Fair
then mostly cloudy.
April 14: Today we were able to confirm that Mama and Papa have at least two very active hatchlings in the nest. Judging
from their size it appears that the April 5 & 8th observations of Mama sitting higher in her nest were accurate and the first
youngster is now about 9 days old with the youngest being 6-7 days old. Weather data: Hi-50, Lo-45, Overcast and breezy,
then late light rain, mist and fog.
April 15: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-56, Lo-44, light rain then mostly cloudy.
April 16: Mama and Papa were very busy late this afternoon tending to their new family. They made numerous nest
exchanges in a short period of time. Papa stayed within a few feet of his family observing while Mama fed their little ones.
Weather data: Hi-62, Lo-40, Few clouds.
April 17: Mama and Papa made numerous nest exchanges once again late this afternoon. Papa eventually flew off to the
Southwest where he landed on an apartment building chimney. Mama was very busy feeding their youngsters shortly after
relieving Papa at the nest. Weather data: Hi-64, Lo-39, Clouds overnight then mostly fair skies.
April 18: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-78, Lo-53, Few clouds.
April 19: This afternoon we found another Red-tailed Hawk nest on the Southern border of Mama and Papa's territory. The
nest is located on a horizontal steel I-beam of a water tower. One of these parent hawks may be an offspring of Mama and
Papa as a couple of their fledglings from prior seasons frequented this area. While we were there we spotted one of the
parent hawks soaring nearby and the other was in the nest. On our way home we visited Mama and Papa's nest, Mama
was very busy late this afternoon feeding her new family. We didn't see Papa today. Weather data: Hi-74 (at 2am), Lo-48,
Mostly cloudy.
April 20: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-48, Lo-46, Overcast early, then steady rain
most of the day heavy at times, lightning and thunder, breezy.
April 21: Mama was sitting high in her nest late this afternoon, we didn't observe her feeding her family at this time. We
didn't see Papa. Weather data: Hi-55, Lo-48, Light drizzle early then fog and mist, brief heavy rain late with some lightning
and thunder. I have archived the March news, it can always be accessed via the Archive Contents Page.
April 22: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-55, Lo-47, Overcast, light rain mid-afternoon.
April 23: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-59, Lo-44, Mostly cloudy and breezy.
April 24: Mama was sitting on a nearby roof antenna eating a meal. Shortly after completing the meal she flew over to a
tree just East of her nest with a good view of her family. She stayed about 15 minutes then flew to her nest. A short while
after checking on her youngsters Mama flew of to the South near last seasons nest. Eventually Mama returned with some
Pine branches for the nest. Mama stayed in the nest at this point arranging the nest bowl and taking care of her new family.
Weather data: Hi-64, Lo-46, Clear then few clouds.
April 25: Late this morning Mama was protecting and providing shade to her young from the strong sun. Weather data:
Hi-69, Lo-49, Partly cloudy.
April 26: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-86, Lo-58, Partly cloudy.
April 27: We weren't able to observe our hawk family today. Weather data: Hi-75, Lo-58, Partly cloudy.
April 28: Mama once again was providing shade for her young family from the strong sun late this morning. Weather data:
Hi-85, Lo-57, Few clouds.
April 29: Mama flew over the central section of her territory late this morning before disappearing in the direction of her
nest. Early in the afternoon Mama was sitting in a tree just to the East of her nest watching as Papa took care of his family
in the nest. Weather data: Hi-79, Lo-50, Partly cloudy.
For those that have not heard, the Northern Rockies Gray Wolves have recently been removed from Federal protection
under the Endangered Species Act. Please click on the following link to the Defenders of Wildlife Petition to help restore
the Gray Wolf Federal Protection Status This is one of the steps underway to help restore Federal protection status to the
Gray Wolf.
April 30: Mama was feeding her family this afternoon, as we observed the feeding we could only see one eyass. Hopefully
the sibling was resting out of sight. The eyass we did see has certainly grown since the last time we had a good look on
April 14th. Weather data: Hi-58, Lo-46, Mostly cloudy, then fog and mist late.
For those that haven't heard, the Northern Rockies Gray Wolves have recently been removed from Federal protection
under the Endangered Species Act. As I understand, under this new ruling up to 2/3rds of the existing wolf population could
be killed in the Northern Rockies.
Wolves in the wild are instrumental to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Wolves are the essential part to restore ecology
through the trophic cascade. Wolves provide a positive impact on the entire ecosystem, some examples are bear
populations increase, songbirds return, smaller trees grow, ground aeration is increased for better water absorption and
cooler stream temperatures are restored increasing and restoring fish populations all by having wolves in the environment.
Many years of manpower hours and effort has been dedicated by many restoring and researching wolves. Significant tax
payer dollars have also been invested in these programs and this ruling will have a significant impact on all the progress
that has been made to date. Please click on the following link to the Defenders of Wildlife Petition to help restore the Gray
Wolf Federal Protection Status This is one of the steps underway to help restore Federal protection status to the Gray
Wolf.