Nesting Red Tail Hawks under attack!

I watched a mated pair of Red Tail Hawks near my home throughout their courtship, nest building, and hunting to provide food for their babies. These birds were under serious attack from Red-winged Blackbirds. The birds were just defending their nests, too, but the attacks soon became relentless! The male Red Tail Hawk had at least 6 Red-winged Blackbirds chasing him when ever I watched him hunting for food. They would even jump on him, and pull out his feathers. I found one of the feathers after this photo was taken! As soon as the babies were out of the nest, the hawks no longer came into the fields where they were being attacked.

Stare Down

This Red-tailed Hawk and Mr Squirrel were having a stare down contest while perched only 3 feet apart in the same tree. The hawk must have already eaten.

Baby red-tailed hawk

I discovered a red-tailed hawk’s nest a few weeks before I took this photo. After visiting the nest several times I started to notice a little fuzzy creature in the nest. As the weeks progressed, I tried to photograph the chick as often as I could to document its development. The hawk’s feathers have come in and it has grown quite a bit. I’m amazed at how much it has changed in just a few months.

Baby Red Tail Hawk

The big old abandoned nest in the back yard was refurbished this year and 2 Red Tails hatched. This curious one peeped over the edge at me. They have now fledged and are receiving hunting lessons.

Baby Red Tailed “Hawklets relaxing on a warm Spring day.

We have a family of Red Tailed Hawks that nests on our farm every year. They successfully fledged two chicks this year and my family absolutely loves being able to witness their development. This picture is of this years babies in the earlier stages of their development in late May.