There’s been a particular pair of Red-tails hanging around all winter in the north end of the Park, where I spend most of my time. One is more or less identifiable because it has only a very light belly band (hawk plumage tends to be much more variable than in many other birds.) Recently they’ve been seen carrying sticks, a sign of nest construction, and yesterday I saw them mating (takes about ten seconds.) So it looks like they’re serious. I can’t say I’m all that thrilled about this development: they’re always coming by and scaring the birds I want to see, not to mention eating them. (Actually, Red-tails prefer rodents, and around here they seem to mostly take pigeons, rats and squirrels, but things can get awfully quiet when they’re circling overhead or perching in one of my favorite spots…)
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- alex 3-25-2004 7:47 pm