Cornell - Red-tailed Hawk cam
 

It's almost that time of year again. :D
Can't wait.


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Karel Sedlacek

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edited later to add:
I found a paragraph in their FAQ - E3 had a terrible accident and was badly injured but is now part of the Raptor Program. [some of us witnessed the accident and it was quite horrific.]
40. What happened to last year’s E3?

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I've tried 3 times to view it over that last week. Twice the cam was "down"...but I saw Big Red sitting on her eggs yesterday.

I guess they are due to hatch soon?

Apparently they are. I checked there some weeks back and didn't think about it until last night. Because of time differences from here, the chat is usually not operating when I'm awake. Not that I use the chat, but it is handy to read it to see what's going on. I guess that's Big Red sitting on them now. She was just moving around a little so I saw the eggs.

I should look it up but vaguely seem to remember the last ones came later in May. I'll check into it more today. I want to see them hatch again.

"First hatch F1 on 5/4"

1st nestling today.
Looks as if that's dad, Ezra, in the nest.

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Just had a really good look at the nest when Ezra left and Big Red took over again.
Only one egg has hatched. It's very white. I don't remember seeing one that white before.

anyway, what am i doing awake at 3 in the morning checking bird cams? ;)


back to sleep for me. I had to check because I swore I saw part of an egg out of nest just before I went to sleep last night.

They are really cute.... I missed the tiny times last season...
so it is nice being able to see the beginning of the chicks now.;)

3 nestlings now. All 3 eggs hatched. F1, F2 and F3 :)

I've not seen F3. I read that on their chat dialogue, but I did get a brief glimpse of F1 and F2 bobble heads around this time yesterday when mum and dad swapped nest sitting duties.

It's between 42 and 48 days after they hatch before they leave the nest. When they're getting close to leaving the nest is when I love to watch as much as I can.

Just popped on and got a good view of two active bobbleheads. So amazing.

Dave.

Lots of feeding going on this morning. Cute camera work too.

I am noticing the largest chick is off by himself alot. The smallest peeps often and the parent is right there to feed him.

Right now the two smaller chicks are side by side ..one with his little wing over the back of the other. While the larger one is on the other side of the nest.

MrsD,
Ah, that's why I only saw the two, plus the underside and fierce talons of a parent at the top of the screen.

Dave.

I saw them clearly again last night before I went to bed... after sunrise us time. The larger one is really aggressive towards the other two.

I suspected that. Raptor chicks can get very aggressive and sometimes KILL the other chicks. But Big Red, the mother, is very strict.

This is a photo taken from the roof of the building across from the nest, by a Cornell person. The nearly fledging chicks last season got out of hand, and Big Red, the mother, came at them with a show of dominance... It is a very revealing photo of parental bird supervision. Big Red does not put up with anything naughty from her chicks, (or mate).

wow, that's an incredible photo.
When the largest one ( I'm guessing first hatched F1) was attacking the others BR was keeping a very close eye on them and started feeding the little ones. The largest one was very strong in comparison and could keep their head up and seemed way more developed than the other two.
All very interesting. I'm not so fond of feeding times as it's all a bit gross early in the morning :o but feeding time allows a lot of their inate behaviours to be seen.

The chicks are very cute today. The afternoon feeding was very polite and civilized.;)

They certainly have grown in a month.
I hadn't checked on them in a week or so and their feathers are totally different. Can't wait until they start flying.

Oh, Wow.... big guys now!;)

F3 ready to fledge this minute.
Well, they're on the ledge. Might take more than a minute :D


other two must have gone already. I don't know :confused:

Edited to add: Found the other two once they changed the camera angle.

They sit on the ledge for several days if I recall...

But fledging already!! I've tried not to get too involved this year, as last year I regretted it. It is a weakness of mine I have to control and master. :o

My son just called, he found a fledgling sparrow at a friend's house and instead of putting it where the parents can feed it, he brought it home. So I had a go round with him...to take it back etc. Sometimes his lack of common sense gets to me. He has watched us put fledglings back many times.... sheeesh. The poor baby is weak from hunger and may not last the night. Or it is ill anyway and meant to die. tough decisions. He cannot feed it every 2 hrs as it needs if he keeps it.:(

Oh dear. Must have thought he was helping somehow. :o

They won't fledge now, it's too late I imagine.
One of them (reading their chat they thought F3) was sitting there on the edge of the ledge for ages.

[mrsD, Sully - Birder on the ground - swerved apparently to stop from hitting a deer on the road and injured with broken nose]

Oh, that is bad news about Sully...Those birders on the ground work so hard for the process of tracking the birds, etc. I hope she will be alright.

My son can be so clueless...He has always been like that. Doesn't pay attention to details/empathy --- The ADHD monster still lives within him and shows up at times like this.

The most interesting fledging event we have had here lately was Weezie getting a robin, which provoked a major alarm of all the birds in our area. They became an army and chased her up from the creek and she came to me to save her! There were jays, robins, chickadees, sparrows, Cardinals, and others I couldn't see, but the commotion was considerable. I got the robin away, put Weez on the screened porch and put the robin where the parents could see and hear him. Fledging can be a very difficult, dangerous and deadly time for birds. Birds that are not 100% normal don't survive the fledge at all.

Looks like F1 has fledged today. So far successfully.

My son took the sparrow back and put it in a bush near the
other sparrow traffic. So that may fix that problem.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll check the footage of it on Karel's site later if I can.
Hopefully the little sparrow will be alright.

Some video of F3 fledging today.... F2 is looking like-- Whoa where did he go?


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F1 has returned.

These nestlings seem more confident to me than last years'.

Also click on June 22, video at the top of the list and see F1 returning.

F2 is squawking up a storm...running back and forth on the ledge... calling to F3.

F2 has finally fledged.... yesterday all he did was run back and forth on the ledge screaming for help and probably food.

Now there is another larger fledgling on the railing trying to get down to the nest...it is very windy and he is having trouble.
F2, is sitting on a railing by a doorway now.

My cats are very upset about the noises these hawks are making
so I had to turn off the sound.

,,,,ah, he made it down finally into the nest cup... looks like he is awaiting a food drop.;) And he is hunkered down in a sitting position for a rest.

handy link for other angles
 

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Different camera angles

This link went offline just as I arrived. I'll try it again tomorrow.

I have to say these 3 birds are much different in personality from the last year's ones.

This F2 was comical and pitiful at the same time. Left alone on the ledge he had quite the meltdown. Last year the fledglings did flap and practice running down the ledge back and forth, but this behavior of F2 was very different.

I look in at Cornell again tomorrow.;)

mrsD, all of them are back in the nest! :confused: :rolleyes:

Yes, they seem to equate the nest with food.

Last year they all screamed for the parents to bring them food, and they were scattered all over.

At least this way it is easier for the parents, who are so busy catching all that food them.

I recall E3 crying all day for them to bring him food. He was desperate, and perhaps that is why he got caught in that greenhouse window and broke his wing?

There was a mention in the chat that sometimes they do return to the nest. So this bunch is doing that.;)