Red Shoulders Nesting 2007

Slide show, please click link below.

Wednesday April 18th. Late afternoon. Red Shoulder nest in Willow.
They never saw me today. When I got there the nest was empty and I feared for the young as it was a bit on the cold side. I slipped behind my neighbor’s house and waited. Both came in at the same time and the one (think it was MOM as this is the one that eventually went back down on the nest) had a catch. I am assuming they have a hatch as it looked like they were feeding below the rim. I would guess in about a week or there about I will see some heads. Fingers are XXX. Last one she is down in the bowl.
Lou


http://www.flickr.com/photos/loub/tags/redshoulder/show/

 

Well Hunter I think you just nailed it as I have Peepers going like crazy in my back dooryard pond and there are 4 more small ponds around us. There favorite is the garter snake. This is my 4th year with this pair and they have several nests and I never know where they will go. Two years ago I lost them and walked many miles through the hardwoods as this is what they like to nest in but to no availl so I missed them that year but found them the next about 60 feet up in a hard maple. They are in their orginal nest this year.
Lou

 

Baxter, It's what they can get. As with any raptor food is where you find it. All they ever do is hunt and nest in season but eating is an all year thing for them so what ever they can find they eat. Sometimes this is there downfall. Cars, truscks, trains, yes trains like Amtract are big killers of many including the eagle as these trains travel about 80MPH and no raptor has any chance of getting up in time. We try to keep a large stetch of the tracks cleared of dead deer for this reason in the winter. The RSH likes small game like the mole and mice and of cause the garter snake.
As for finding a nest only look in hard wood stands like maple, oak, ash, and when they find one they like it will be the first heavy crotch going up the tree. Look when there are no leaves and take a photo of the nest if you find one so you can check back and see if any changes have been made so you know it is active.
Lou

 

Thank you Gale and I am sure there will be more to come from this pair as there useally is. Been with them 4 years now.
Lou

 

Thanks John and I see you are useing FlickR so the slide show is just a click away on it.
Lou

 

Thank you Dave Not that much. I am afraid there is still much to learn when it comes to raptors, but being with people that are in the business of saving them and the DEC endangered species unit with our eagles I have had a lot of great chances to be places most people will never be and learn things from people that have climbed over 800 trees to nests in N.Y, Canada and Alaska. I have 3 eagle nests I do monitor on my own and I am almost 76 years and of them about 58 have been with photography and wildlife. I am getting to feel the climb back up the hills to my wagon from a shore to look accross to an eagle nest getting toughter. Well I guess if your time comes I would rather be watching a pair of eagles in a nest or soaring high above me than having someone find me in a chair watching a TV still running.:biggrin: :biggrin:
Lou