Other Birds, St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Mockingbird vs. Red-tailed Hawk, Part II

Last week, I saw a Mockingbird in the garden on the south side of the Cathedral, and knew it was only a matter of time before I’d see a confrontation between this Mockingbird and a Red-tailed Hawk near the nest.  (This is a different Mockingbird than the one that harassed the Red-tail on 110th Street.)

This morning the female adult was about twenty feet from the nest when a Mockingbird attacked.  After acting like the Mockingbird was nothing more than an annoying insect, the Red-tailed moved north to a St. Luke’s Hospital perch.

(Her strange appearance and coloring is due to the rain.)
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St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Wednesday Evening at the Cathedral

I was up at the nest for about an hour or so after 6:00 p.m. It was a quiet evening with a cool breeze.  The parents spent their time off the nest and only one eyas was very active on the nest while I was there.

The eyas has changed greatly in the last two days.  It’s beginning to look more like a Red-tailed adult, each and every day.

The male adult.
The female adult.
Growing up fast.
Look how much the wing feathers have grown in!
St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Keeping Watch

In the late morning and early afternoon, both parents kept an eye on the nest from various perches around the nest.

The female on a St. Luke Hospital building at 114th and Morningside Drive.
The female brings a twig to the nest.
The female (left) and the male (right) on the Archangel Gabriel statue.
Another view of the statue.