Red Shouldered Hawks seem to be regulars at Ellis Creek, particularly during the breeding and nesting season.
February 26th, 2020 - 9:41am - I was walking near the central eucalyptus tree that is quite prominent at the Ellis Creek ponds when I noticed this Red-shouldered Hawk fly up into the branches of the eucalyptus. There is a good sized nest high in the center column of this tree and I had wondered if it might be an ongoing yearly-use nest and it turns out to be the case, at least for this year as I was ultimately able to see the hawk fly to the nest with materials to enhance it. All of the shots in this sequence were taken either sequentially at 1/5 second intervals or about ten to fifteen seconds apart.
February 26th, 2020 - 9:41am - She went right to work with her sharp and strong bill clipping partway through this small branch of the eucalyptus tree…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:41am - …ten seconds later after positioning herself above and to the right of her chosen branch she launches into a focused, short range dive to tear the branch away from its weakened connection which she accomplishes with apparent ease. It did not look like the first time she used this technique and I have seen Red-tailed Hawks perform in a very similar manner.
February 26th, 2020 - 9:42am - And then flew with her nest-building branch directly to this perch in a dead tree nearby…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:42am - …where she quickly engaged in a most complicated series of moves and contortions as she maneuvered her way along this stout branch with her nest building material clutched tightly…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:42am - …as you can clearly begin to see, this is complicated stuff…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:42am - …lending many a dramatic pose…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:42am - …and displaying the energy, focus and determination to move one more small branch on its way to bolster and enhance her nest in the nearby tree…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:43am - …and she makes a short flight across to a saw-cut snag with a Great Tailed Grackle as an audience of sorts…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:43am - …and here she shifts over a bit, dispersing the grackle as well as offering a nice pose…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:43am - …and a few seconds later she launches into flight…
February 26th, 2020 - 9:43am - …heading directly to her nest in the big eucalyptus tree to further improve it.