There has been some sort of hawk cruising around my neighborhood for a while and a while back it started hanging out on top of a redwood tree across the street. The treetop is 70 yards from the top of my driveway, according to my range finder. This morning on my way out we noticed there were two similarly sized birds on the tree. I'm assuming they built a nest up there? Do they stay paired up? I pulled my old DSLR out of the back of the closet and tried to grab some pics... the longest lens I have is a low quality 300mm, so I can't get in their very close, and shooting against the sky, even overcast, isn't giving me great images. I overexposed them some (a lot) to try and see some more detail... Anybody ID these guys? (click for a larger picture)

Red tailed hen!

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Red tailed hen!

Does a mating pair set up in the nest together? How wide is that nest likely to be?

Every once in a while I get a red tailed hawk sitting on my fence in the back yard. Not often though.

We have plenty here, large lake nearby, plenty of forest preserved area in the neighborhood, bats, hawks and Owls.

This guy decided a mailbox was the best place to rest.

3 years ago a pair of Goss Hawks moved in. 3 years later we have 9 Goss Hawks.All the songbirds left. Can’t do anything about em. They’re protected. I miss my songbirds.

I love watching hawks, and listening to them. We have several in the neighborhood, and they keep the squirrels and rabbits in check, which is awesome. I see them daily when we go for walks, either cruising around over the fields or sitting on phone poles. Occasionally you'll even see them catching and eating something, which is pretty cool.

It doesn't seem to hurt the population of other birds, either. We have plenty of robbins, sparrows, finches, wrens, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers (red headed, red bellied, and pileated), herons, sandhill cranes, wild turkeys and vultures around, too, and even the occasional osprey or bald eagle.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Red tailed hen!

Does a mating pair set up in the nest together? How wide is that nest likely to be?

He's somewhere around. Listen for them to call back and forth.