Goss and Mrs Goss have three eggs.

Post from May 4, 2013

Zitat

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From:Tom Totton 05:52 04/05/2013

Good morning all, lovely picture on a lovely bright day.
Mrs Goss sat in the sunshine, birds singing , what else could you want on a May morning.
Cuckoo calling in the background

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I guess it really is a cuckoo in the background calling to Ms. Patti and Lano.

HA! Told ya there were cuckoo clock birds there and Estonia, too. I grew up with a cuckoo clock that cuckooed <<<is that a word? - every hour and half hour. The little sucker would come out with a booooiiiingggg from the spring door and cuckoo. It always sounded like he was saying "Born Cuckoo."

Anyway, this nest will be something new and different to watch and learn about. Thanks for the link Lano!

This video shows how the Goshawk flies through tiny spaces.


Goshawk is pronounced Goss Hawk, as if it were two words. It's literal meaning is GOOSE HAWK.

I gathered some basic facts about the Goshawk to get us started on this adventure.


A powerful raptor of northern forests, the Northern Goshawk is the largest North American accipiter. It maneuvers through dense woods, taking prey as small as squirrels and as large as grouse, crows, and snowshoe hare.

Measurements
Both Sexes

Length
20.9–25.2 in
53–64 cm
Wingspan
40.6–46.1 in
103–117 cm
Weight
22.3–48.1 oz
631–1364 g

Nesting Facts

Clutch Size
1–5 eggs
Egg Description
Bluish white.
Condition at Hatching
Covered in white down and able to move around in nest.

Nest Description
A large bowl of thin sticks lined with bark and greenery, placed in large tree.

Behavior
Perches silently, waiting and watching for prey. Switches perches after brief periods. Descends on prey rapidly, maneuvering through forest vegetation or willingly crashing through it.

Food
Large birds, squirrels, rabbits, and hares.

Calls
Mostly silent. Sometimes issues a plaintive wail or, when alarmed, an agitated series of brief, high syllables.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_goshawk/sounds

Cool Facts
The Northern Goshawk is well known for its fierce defense of its nest. It commonly attacks people and other animals that approach the nest too closely.
The Northern Goshawk can be very persistent in pursuing prey. One goshawk was seen pursuing a snowshoe hare for 45 to 60 minutes along a hedgerow until finally the hare ran into a clearing and was seized. A goshawk may also chase poultry into buildings.
Attila the Hun wore an image of a Northern Goshawk on his helmet.
The Northern Goshawk is found across northern America and Eurasia. Most of the Eurasian races have much more dark barring on the chest than the American form, but about half of all Siberian goshawks are nearly white.
The name "goshawk" comes from the Old English words gos, meaning goose, and hafoc meaning hawk. It is pronounced as if the words are still separate, without any "sh" sound.

The Smithsonian has a documentary called "Soul of the Wind" about the Goshawk. Here is a clip from it.

Goshawk: Soul of the Wind

Attila the Hun wore its image on his helmet. The South Korean Air Force has adopted its brazen hatchlings as its mascot. The Goshawk is a national treasure that reigns over the mountains of Korea. Speeding through woodlands, its four-foot wingspan, long tail, razor-sharp talons and extraordinary eyesight allows it to ambush its prey with precision. But the Goshawk will be tested as a hunter, struggling to survive a harsh winter, and as a parent watching over its vulnerable hatchlings, which will live or die by their ability to hunt.

Here's another clip from the Smithsonain Channel's documentary "Soul of the Wind."
This is a slow motion squirrel hunt. Awesome!

And one more clip from the documentary. This one shows some nice shots of the Goshawk flying.

Did you see the "ears" on that squirrel?

Pop do you think that squirrel is the rare GHS - Great Horned Squirrel?

Here's a MAP!

We have a hatch!

First feeding. Mrs. Goss feeds what looks very much like rotisserie chicken to her first 2 eyasses.

Pictures of the 2009 nest. That was a good cam!
http://www.newforestgateway.org/PictureL...16/Default.aspx

Today Mrs. Goss was AWOL for what seemed like a very long time - 2 hours or more? When she returned, she brought prey with her, which she did not feed to the eyasses until around 7:00 p.m. nest time. Both chicks seemed eager to eat, but one got almost all the food. I did not observe any aggression between the chicks. While they were feeding, Mr. Goss arrived with a meal. Mrs. Goss did not allow him on the nest, and screamed at him. He was in such a rush to depart that he almost dropped the new prey overboard. The new prey, which you can see to the left edge of nest in the pics, looks once again very much like rotisserie chicken. As soon as Mrs. Goss finished the feeding, she snatched up the pelt of whatever small mammal they had fed upon and flew off with it, just like doing the dinner dishes. One egg remains in the nest.

Today we watched for a long while as the wriggling eyasses were brooded by a parent bent on keeping them on schedule. Then the baby-sitter replacement arrived, flying closer and closer to the nest and announcing his/her arrival with a series of loud "kak kak kak's". At shift change, we caught a glimpse of three little bobbleheads and a broken piece of egg shell. Question is: Who is on the nest? Mr. Goss or Mrs. Goss? Clearly they both brood the chicks.

Mr. Goss was gone for only a few minutes before he returned with fresh prey, a bird of some kind. Here is a pic of the feeding; all three eyasses were bobbling for their meal, and there was no fighting among them. As soon as the feeding ended, Mrs. Goss snapped up the eggshell, carried it to the edge of the nest, and placed it beside the mystery gift that was brought in last night. She considered the "gift" for only a moment before swooping it up and carrying it away, either to dispose of it or eat it herself. The eggshell remains on the side of the nest. Mrs. Goss is nothing if not a neat nestkeeper.

The Goshawk family continues to thrive in their forest home. Observing around 5:00 p.m. nest time, Mrs. Goss roused herself with a noise that sounded to me like shaking out a taffeta skirt. She moved away from her brood and swooped out into the forest. A goshawk called in the distance. Only moments later, one of the goshawks returned with dinner - a large bird of some kind, pigeon-size. The bird was already plucked and ready to serve. Immediately the eyasses began to peep, eager for their meal. All three moved into "feeding position" and all three received plenty of food. Again, I observed no aggression among the siblings. Mrs. Goss quickly disposed of the legs and wings, reserving the choice meaty parts for her chicks.

I am not yet confident to I.D. the Mr. from the Mrs. Goss, but I believe this to be mama because she is so adept at feeding (and she is BIG). It is likely that she flew out to retrieve the prey from Mr. Goss, who had already de-feathered the bird.

As soon as the feeding was over, and none of the eyasses would receive more food, Mrs. Goss scooped up the carcass of the bird and flew away with it. There will be no crumbs found in Mrs. Goss' pantry! She returned moments later with a pine bough to freshen her nest.

We watched this exact behavior last year with Michelle and Travis. As first time watchers of falcons, we couldn't figure out why there was no food in the nest. We thought Travis was a slacker and starvation was inevitable, but then Michelle would fly off for just a minute and return with a plucked, ready to eat bird.
As we learned more about the falcon, we realized that Travis was hunting, plucking and stacking food somewhere in a nearby pantry. They always removed any leftovers immediately and I never saw them fail to do this. This seems to be exactly what these Goshawks are doing.
It's funny how the Goshawks look and act like a falcon but are supposed to be hawks. The only thing that reminds me of the hawks nest is the fresh greenery they bring to freshen up their house. Maybe a better name would be Hawkcons or Falhawks.

Awesome video! Thanks Hiker.