Ralphthedog clued us in to the Starr Ranch cams last night. Thanks, RTD! The cam is a nice one, although we might expect ups and downs if traffic gets heavy.

http://owlsmatter.com/blog/red-shouldered-hawk/

Pete provides the following info:
04/01/13 There are two eggs which was the case when I installed the camera on 03/20/13 so I’m quite certain this is a full clutch, but don’t know when she started laying. Incubation is around 30 days. Both adults are also banded and at some point I will operate the PTZ so we might be able to read these bands and learn more about both. In the meantime, watch, learn, enjoy. BTW, best viewing is early morning and late afternoon when there are few to no shadows. Also this is not an IR cam – you won’t be able to watch during the night. But with diurnal birds of prey there’s not much going on then anyway.


Here is one of the Red-Shouldered hawk pair incubating two eggs:

The following information was provided by poster Eugenia:

Few things about Red shouldered hawk:
Both male and female build the nest, or refurbish a prior year’s nest. Stick nests are about 2 feet in diameter and lined with bark, moss, lichens, and conifer sprigs. The parents continue to add fresh green leaves throughout the nesting season.
Red-shouldered Hawks often reuse nests from past years.
Red-shouldered Hawks return to the same nesting territory year after year.
Red-shouldered Hawks eat mostly small mammals, lizards, snakes, and amphibians. They also eat toads, snakes, and crayfish.
The Great Horned Owl often takes nestling Red-shouldered Hawks, but the hawk occasionally turns the tables. While a Red-shouldered Hawk was observed chasing a Great Horned Owl, its mate took a young owl out of its nest and ate it.

Nesting Facts
Clutch Size
2–5 eggs
Number of Broods
1 broods
Egg Length
2.1–2.2 in
5.24–5.65 cm
Egg Width
1.6–1.7 in
4.2–4.4 cm
Incubation Period
32–40 days
Nestling Period
42–49 days
Egg Description
Dull white or faint bluish with brown blotches and markings
Condition at Hatching
Thickly covered with down; an even thicker down grows soon after hatching.

I posted a few pictures, two of each of the parents, so we could begin to tell them apart. I love this site. Even if they don't have chat, the cams are great. Both birds are banded, so at some point we will have to start checking for band information and ID these two. So much fun!

Map coordinates! Yahoo, now we are talking....

Zitat

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If you copy the following coordinates and paste into maps.google.com or Google Earth it will give you the approximate locations of both nests. They’re about .25 miles apart. Pete
RSHA Nest:
33°37’59.09″N,117°33’20.21″W
BNOW Cavity:
33°37’45.90″N,117°33’14.89″W

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I love this cam, too! The sound of the water running beside the tree is so relaxing. Even if the cam doesn't have IR, the mic picks up those sounds from Bell Creek 24/7. I watched for a few minutes today and one parent on the nest called to the other parent who promptly showed up to sit for awhile.

The first red-shouldered hawk chick hatched on April 18th. Here is a video of Mama hawk feeding rabbit to her little one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkhNTUpA_eE&feature=youtu.be

What a cutie! Thanks R4!

I watched this nest for awhile today and I got to see the new little one being fed. I only saw one baby, too, so the other one must not have hatched yet or is so little I couldn't see it yet. This nest is perfectly built to block our view. LOL
One of the adults has 2 legs rings and the other one only has one and it has the number 2 on it.

One parent was feeding the little one and when it was finished the parent immediately removed the leftovers. The other parent instantly flew in and stood on the edge of the nest guarding the baby but never sat down. They are beautiful birds and their chest feathers looks so soft.

Ok I take back the comment about our view being blocked. This is PERFECT! I got to see a feeding. Still see only 1 baby.

Sadly, it is reported that another bird attacked the sitting RSH.

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Lakelady001 on April 24, 2013 at 7:26 am said: Link to comment #103036 Log in to Reply
I saw another bird swoop in and fight with our hawk and take the baby at about 8:30 am. So sad!!

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Since then we watched the male bring food to the female on the nest, which she ate. They both then left the nest at about 8:00 AM local time.

Post from Starr Ranch addressing the absence of the RSH chick.

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Starr Ranch on April 24, 2013 at 10:04 am said: Link to comment #103063 Log in to Reply
Larger or smaller hawks like Red-tailed and Cooper’s would have no problem making an attempt at taking chicks from a Red-shouldered Hawk. Raven and Crows as well. If the chick was indeed taken, I suspect the female is still incubating the egg, which at this point is highly unlikely to hatch. This sort of thing happens all the time and is likely why raptors and birds in general nest every year and produce a lot of young over the course of their life. Going from egg to mature breeding adult is no easy task and most (~90%+) do not make it. Pete

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More comments from Pete about the RSH being taken.


Starr Ranch on April 24, 2013 at 12:31 pm said: Link to comment #103070

This far into the season she’s not likely to lay any more eggs. It’s also really hard to say how long she’ll incubate the egg that’s there – we may not be able to see it but I have to believe it’s there or else she would not be doing what she’s doing. Sometimes they give up quickly and sometimes the continue to incubate for weeks on end.

Regarding the fate of the chick, it was indeed taken by a Red-tailed Hawk. Have some video of this and will post later. It’s an example of the reality that all wildlife face whether they’re trying to survive, reproduce, protect young, find food, etc. Death is so much a part of life for wildlife and, as hard as it may be for us to take, is something that happens a lot. Really, A LOT. And probably is an important part of the the lives of the ones who survive. Pete

Awwww man! One of the adults was on the nest "feeding" an empty nest. It would tear little pieces and hold them over the bowl like it was expecting the baby would take it. So sad. It then fluffed up the nest and arranged some sticks before settling down in the bowl.

Lano posted this link in SS earlier today. Red tail comes in and takes the baby around the 1:40 mark.

I took some snips from the video of the RT grabbing the RSH baby. It was so fast! Over and done in literally seconds.
RSH parent seems unaware of any danger until it's too late. RT comes straight down on the baby and is gone in the blink of an eye.

Quote from Pete..

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05/09/13 On April 24th a Red-tailed Hawk predated this Red-shouldered Hawk nest. It took the chick. As I’ve previously mentioned, this happens and probably more often than we know. And the predator could have easily been a bobcat, raccoon, owl, another hawk species, or any other predator with the ability to access the nest. In any case, this is another part of life for these wild birds and these kinds of events are integral to their overall survival and their ability to remain viable as a species. I am sharing the link to the clip of what happened for the purposes of education and because I think it’s important to understand that death is an integral part of the life of these birds and any wildlife species. Also, while what happened is not bloody, it can be heart wrenching for some to watch. So please keep this in mind before you do. Video

I’m also sharing a video I have from nine years ago where a similar event took place in another Red-shouldered Hawk nest not far from this one. Only this time the adult Red-shouldered Hawk successfully defended herself and her chicks from a Red-tailed Hawk. The quality of the clip is not great, but it does illustrate how these situations can be very dynamic and the outcome isn’t always the same. Video
Pete

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Link to the second video mentioned: