This afternoon (~2:15) I heard a commotion out in my backyard, the scolding of Blue Jays, Robins, and at least one Gray Squirrel. Figuring a raptor was present I retrieved my binoculars and went to investigate. Nearing the site of the sounds I looked up and spotted a nest structure atop a spindly Pitch Pine. Looking back at me from the nest was a Red-tailed Hawk. The nest was not large enough for a RTHA's, and it's highly unlikely any raptor would attempt to nest in my small (if still somewhat wooded) suburban yard. It's far too late in the year for a RTHA to be starting a nest anyway. So I figured it had to be a squirrel's. This was confirmed a few seconds later when the buteo launched itself from the nest carrying a small, long-tailed mammal. I see RTHAs soaring over my yard a few times a year, regularly see them perched on light poles along the nearby (200 yards) Southern State Parkway and, and have had a few fly-throughs over the years, but this observation takes the cake.
-- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
