I knew red-shouldered hawks nested close by in our area. Often on hikes in spring, we'd hear the male and see him soaring in circles, calling frequently. In the fall I would usually see an immature hawk as well in the same area.
As we were hiking our usual route, I could hear the call of a red-shouldered very close by, a repeated kee-ah kee-ah kee-ah. Looking up, I saw a nest in a crotch of a tall maple, about 60 feet off the ground.
Gerry continued on, but I went to a better vantage point and saw a head sticking out of the nest! The call I was hearing was the nestling! Rushing home, I dragged Gerry back with his camera.
After a bit of a wait, we were rewarded when one popped up from the nest.
Soon his nest-mate appeared too, stretching his wings!
They're starting to get real feathers on their wings and tail.
We were hoping for an adult to show up as we could hear one close by, it was being mobbed by blue jays.
We didn't see the adults but here's a picture Gerry took of one during hawk migration on Putney Mountain last fall.
On our hike the next day, we came across a fawn in the grass, she was perfectly still, crouched in the grass, the dogs didn't even notice!
