The 3 red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) chicks are growing fast and terrorizing all the other animals along our lakeshore. These beautiful raptors are protected species and should be given a wide berth to raise their young. This particular boil of hawks is very active as the young learn to hunt in our heavily wooded, lakefront backyards.
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A hawk of the woodlands, often heard before it is seen. The clear whistled calls of this hawk are conspicuous, especially in spring; in the east, Blue Jays often give a near-perfect imitation of this call. Over much of eastern North America the Red-shoulder has become uncommon, sticking closely to the remaining forests. Populations in Florida and California are often more visible, perhaps adapting better to open habitats.
Red-shouldered hawk habitat is generally bottomland woods, wooded streamsides, swamps. In east, nests in deciduous and mixed forest, with tall trees and relatively open understory, often along rivers and swamps. May move into more open habitats in winter. In west, typically in riverside forest or in oak woodland, sometimes in eucalyptus groves. Florida birds may be in pine woods, mangroves.
In our Central Florida woodsy lakefront hamlet they live amongst the live oak forests on the lakeshore.
Usually red-shouldered hawks hunt by watching from a perch, either within forest or in open, swooping down when it locates prey. Sometimes flies very low in open areas, taking creatures by surprise. May use hearing as well as sight to locate prey. Often I will only hear the swoosh as these 3 very young hawks swoop down chasing after prey of snakes, frogs, rabbits, ducks and other birds. They are very stealthy hunters.
Eggs
Young
DietFemale hawks typically lay 3-4 eggs, sometimes 2. Eggs are pale bluish-white, blotched with brown and lavender. Incubation is mostly by female, roughly 33 days. Male brings food to female at nest, and may take a turn sitting on eggs while female eats.
Young
Female remains with young most of time for first 1-3 weeks after they hatch; male brings food, female feeds it to nestlings. Young leave the nest at about 5-7 weeks after hatching, and are fed by parents for another 8-10 weeks.
Diet includes small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds. Diet varies with region and season. Main food source items are often mammals such as voles and chipmunks and squirrels (in Florida), at other times frogs and toads; may eat many crayfish in some areas. Also eats snakes, small birds, mice, large insects, occasionally fish, rarely carrion.
In courtship, male displays by flying upward, calling, then diving steeply. Pairs may soar together in circles, calling, high over nesting territory. Nest site is usually in deciduous tree, sometimes in conifer, located in fork of main trunk or at base of branches against trunk, usually 35-65' above ground. Nest (built by both sexes) is platform of sticks and other material, lined with bark, moss, and sprigs of green vegetation. Nest may be reused for more than one season.
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| Photo: Phillip Lott Phillip's Natural World |
A Guide to Dealing with Aggressive Raptors
Birds of prey, also called raptors, include hawks, eagles, falcons and owls. In Florida, every spring and summer, there are reports of raptors diving at people. These incidents, which are usually caused by hawks, have happened in both urban and suburban areas. Most of these events occur during the nesting season and near an active nest where there are chicks or eggs. The raptors dive at people who come too close to the nest. The birds view those people as threats to the nest and the babies. In many cases, the birds dive at people but don’t make contact. However, there have been injuries from these birds when they do make contact. Reports show that the birds may dive at people as far as 150 feet away from their nests.
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| Photo: Phillip Lott Phillip's Natural World |
Legal status
All Florida raptors are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and under Florida law. This means the birds themselves, their nests, and their eggs are protected by federal and state law. These raptors are far less numerous than historically in some areas, including upper midwest and parts of Atlantic Coast, but current populations are thought to be stable in some regions. They are one of the most common raptors in north Central Florida.
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