This picture from Bill Barron and news from Boston’s Fenway Park got me thinking about hawks who live near people.

Bill captured this photo of a red-tailed hawk at the moment it took off from his chimney.  Obviously the bird is comfortable where there are lots of people — a comfort level that’s a relatively new phenomenon.

Years ago people persecuted and killed hawks, believing they attacked farm animals, but since 1937 a series of laws have made this illegal.  There are still some evil-minded people who rationalize that they’re above the law and shoot hawks, but this is rare and not often found in cities.

Since red-tails are rather safe in cities, they now take advantage of the food in our vicinity (mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks) and benefit from being near a top-level predator (us) who keeps the other predators at bay.

Which brings me to the Fenway Park incident on 3 April 2008.

Red-tailed hawks have been hanging out at Fenway for a couple of years.  This spring a female tried yet again to build a nest near the press box.  She was fine with people near her until she laid an egg.  As soon as she became a mother her protective instincts kicked in.  “Don’t get near my nest!”

Unfortunately a middle school girl got too close during a tour and the hawk told her to back off in the only way she knew how — she swooped down and used her talons.  It was a huge misunderstanding.  The hawk didn’t realize that people couldn’t honor her nesting boundaries at a place like Fenway and the people didn’t understand that the hawk’s boundaries had suddenly expanded because of the nest.

The girl sustained a scratch and was fine.  Meanwhile the hawk’s egg had already rolled out of the nest and was no longer viable.  Wildlife officials removed the nest, as they’ve done every spring for the past few years (this hawk is a slow learner), and the red-tails moved on to a better nest site.

Now for those of who you are thinking, “Oh my!  Hawks really are dangerous!” I want to point out that red-tailed hawks are extremely common in North America — there are about 1 million red-tails in the U.S. — and that on the entire continent this is a stand-alone misunderstanding with one bird.  It’s not a pattern, it does not happen every day, and that’s why it’s news.  99% of the time hawks are smart enough not to nest too close to people and people don’t approach nesting hawks.   Everyone involved in this incident has learned something — and so have you.

A little bit of common sense is all we need to get by.

(photo by Bill Barron)

Yesterday at work Cliff Curley called me around 4:00pm to say, “Come right now!  Your hawk is on the ground by the loading dock eating a rabbit!”

By the time I got there she had created quite a stir.  (I could tell it was the female because she has a much paler head than her mate.)  According to all accounts, she was perched on our roof for quite a while, staring at the hillside behind the dumpsters.  When no one was watching – and certainly not the rabbit- she flew down and pounced.  Dinner!

Surprisingly, none of us had a good camera available but Kelly Foreman snapped this picture with her small one.  In the original wider photo, the hawk and rabbit both blend into the background so well you can hardly see them.  Obviously, this is how they avoid detection – the hunter and the hunted.

Our lady hawk has been very busy these past few days.  Not only is she eating well but she has been courting with her mate and building a nest.  Three times I’ve seen her fly past my window carrying sticks in her beak to some unknown place nearby.  I’ll love to know where that place is.  I’m sure she’ll keep it a secret as long as possible.

If you’re squeamish, close your eyes and go to another website right now.  Otherwise, read on.

Yesterday I learned about a bird incident that happened last Saturday in downtown Pittsburgh across the street from the Westin Convention Center Hotel. 

Mark Wolz, who works at the hotel, reported it to the National Aviary.  His pictures and story were so fascinating that my friends at the Aviary shared it with me. 

According to Mark, patrons of the Tonic Restaurant said the hawks were chasing and ran into the restaurant window.  By the time he saw the birds, the red-tailed hawk had killed the immature coopers hawk and was beginning to eat. 

As you can see from Mark’s picture, the red-tail was very hungry.  Even so, people could get quite close.

Normally red-tails pick up their prey and carry it to a tree to eat.  Perhaps the prey was too heavy or the red-tail decided it would be too hard to move with so many people nearby.  Instead he spread his wings and mantled over his meal.  This made him look large and fierce. 

After the red-tail finished eating, he flew to perch on a street light at 10th and Penn.  At that point another hawk dove and screeched at the red-tail. 

Mark said the attacker had his wings tucked back like a jet fighter as he dove at the red-tailed hawk.  That shape sounds like a peregrine to me and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of the Gulf Tower peregrines.  Peregrines defend their territory against red-tailed hawks and the Gulf Tower is right next door.

Hawks don’t usually eat other hawks so I wonder…  What led up to this?  Was the coopers hawk weak and picked out as a potential meal?  Did the red-tail merely intend to harrass the coopers but decided to take advantage of a stunned foe?  Who was the final attacking hawk?  Was it one of the Gulf Tower peregrines?

The more I watch birds, the more I’m amazed by what they do.

(photo by Mark Wolz)