Quote: altazena wrote in post RE: Saker Falcon Cam - HungaryI have wondered about that phenomenon. Why is it that in so many of these species the female does most if not all the feeding of the young? It has crossed my mind that she doesn't entirely trust him. Since hunting is more his department during this time, perhaps there is an instinct to keep him separate from the youngsters to protect them. On the other hand, if in general he is the better hunter, perhaps it just makes sense for her to stay and feed while he goes and does what he does best.
Quote: patticake wrote in post RE: Saker Falcon Cam - HungaryThat's an interesting thought alta! Maybe she doesn't trust him and maybe she's just bossy and protective of her babies like most all of us moms are.
We learned that the reason the Goshawk dad is in and out so fast is because he doesn't trust mom. It seems Mom Goshawks have been known to eat their mates! Maybe dads are afraid of moms cause they're bigger and vacate the premises whenever they show up?
Patti, I transferred our quotes from the Saker Falcon thread. I had no idea this could happen! How did you find out about it? Are there any other raptor species in which the female might eat the male?
Alta, I don't know how common this behavior is, but clearly the female goshawk is aggressive toward the male and very dominant on her nest. Like Cooper's hawks, the male is tolerated to help with incubation, but rarely permitted on the nest during brooding. Last season I taped a documentary done by NatGeo or Smithsonian that has more specific information. I'll check this out and see if I can find it.
Here's another pic of a feeding today. I call it the "round table" -- all three little hawks lined up in an orderly manner, each assertively going for food, but remaining in place. There was one little tug of war when two chicks took the food and didn't want to give it up. As usual, Mum cleared the table of scraps.
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Round Table 05-05-14.jpg
alta I lurked at the right time last year and got the info about the female Goshawk killing her mate. Alex from New Forest was on chat talking about it. Here's the post from the 2013 season. 2013 Nest (3) I don't know about other raptors but I know that in most all cases the female is larger so it does makes sense that the males would have a natural and healthy fear of them.
I can't hardly believe my eyes! I went on vacation for a week and when I came back the little white fuzz balls were gone. Who are these big babies? !!!
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Fri May 02, 2014 9:34 pm
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