Subject: Interurban redtails
Date: Jun 8 18:54:12 1997
From: "Clarice Clark and Jerry Broadus" - jbroadus at seanet.com


A little over a month ago I mentioned being surprised at seeing an
active redtail nest just off of the Interurban trail in a cottonwood
just north of highway 18. I thought it was an unusually visible
location for one, however since redtails have been having a rough
time in that industrializing area I guess they are nesting in
whatever trees are left. My comment started a short discussion on
"redtails as yardbirds". Anyway. two weeks ago we stopped by again
and there was one fledged and one chick on the nest. Yesterday we
pulled off the trail on our bikes at just the right time for that
wonderful display of clumsy new hawkisms that just fledged redtails
make. Two adults in a further cottonwood, calling. Two fledged
youngsters in the nest tree, one looking especially clumsy-- I think
we got there just as it left the homestead. One adult flew in with a
mouse-- all sorts of screams. The better flying junenile tries out
his wings-- a good flier but not quite up with it in judgment-- like
still not yet able to pick the landing branch that will hold it up.
It was great fun, we got a good show for a half an hour, and saw
lots of prey being eaten on the nest. Here's
hoping they make it-- in the years I've driven the roads in
that area (since pre freeway days) the steady decline of redtails
there has been depressingly obvious.
Jerry Broadus
P.O. Box 249
Puyallup, WA. 98371