Red-shouldered Hawk Territory-IV

“I felt a bit like this chipmunk on my last visit. He heard the hawks calling and disappeared into a crack in the rocks. The male hawk is very territorial now and rightly so. He is currently doing all the hunting and is the primary protector of his family. There is a fine line between observing and interfering and I’m trying to walk that line.” Sketchbook notes, 5-2-09.
On my last visit with the hawks, May 1st, the tree limbs were drooping, heavy with wet leaves and I was unable to see the nest. I moved to the location where I first began to see the hawks, which I will refer to as house one. Though I can’t see the nest here any longer because of the canopy, I can hear and sometimes see the hawks’ activities. I also get to enjoy their habitat which is thick with old growth, deciduous hardwoods, some pines and a forest floor blanketed with Mayapples, ferns and blooming Rhodendrum, among others.

In my notes on this visit I wrote the following: 10:59, two hawks flying just beyond the trees behind the house, pursued by a calling crow. I couldn’t firmly identify them as the pair. 11:26, both hawks are off the nest. One flew past me and landed on the roof, the other shortly followed and flew over the house. They came from the direction I had previously seen the two hawks.

I was surprised that both were away from the nest at the same time. Crows raid hawk’s nests; hawks raid crows nests. And crows harass hawks anytime, for any reason or none.

All of this happened within seconds. I was watching two juvenile squirrels grooming and scratching when the first hawk landed on the roof. I assumed they were juveniles because they were just leisurely hanging out together and didn’t even notice the hawks. And I had just spotted a chipmunk stretched tall beside a rock when one of the hawks began calling. The chipmunk ducked back into the rocks.

Are chipmunks smarter than squirrels?

I did see one of the squirrels slinking down the tree, peeping out periodically from one side or the other. I wasn’t sure if he was being cautious or curious.

And during a quiet moment, while listening to a Wood thrush sing, I spotted this thrush foraging in the leaves, dwarfed by some of the mayapples. I think it is a Veery but it is my first, so I would love for someone more experienced to confirm the ID.

Sketchbook image of female tending to young.

This is the fifteenth post in a series on this pair or red-shouldered hawks. To see the entire series, click here. The last post will be the first in the series.