Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Young in Nest - Stillwater;
Date: May 31 22:55:57 2009
From: johntubbs at comcast.net - johntubbs at comcast.net




Hi everyone,



I led an Eastside Audubon group on a unique birdathon today.? Unique because it was preceded by a fabulous brunch prepared by the three hosts, and a late-starting (12:30 pm) and relatively short and laid-back four hours of birding, then a return to the starting point for champagne and dessert.? A significant donation was asked of the participants and so the event resulted in a nice donation to Eastside.? We had a great day.



We logged 46 species that included no unexpected birds or rarities, but gave us a satisfying variety of birds to study and hear.?



The best find of the day was a Red-tailed Hawk nest with two young in the nest.? The two chicks in the nest are at the "cute ugly" stage with most of their body and flight feathers grown in, but with a downy, fuzzy head that emphasizes the size of the bill and eye and gives them somewhat of the look of a vulture head.? Fortunately, we had a good scope along and got excellent views of the two babies in the nest.? The nest was found because we kept hearing the adult hawks vocalizing almost continuously, something I have heard with Red-tailed Hawks before when they have a nest (we were fortunate to have a nest in our backyard when we lived near Maltby that successfully fledged young at least five years running, and had heard the calling behavior with that pair).?



If you are able to find the nest, and have a good scope, you can get excellent views of the young...but finding it could be a trick.? It is in the crook of a cottonwood tree that is on the far side of Highway 203 from the main marshy pond right by the main Stillwater parking lot.? The vantage point we had that allowed views of the babies without leaves interfering was about at the midpoint of the pond, looking across the pond at about a 10:00 position relative to a perpendicular to the highway.? There is a grouping of perhaps six cottonwood trees there, and the nest was in the far left one, perhaps 2/3 of the way up the tree.? I would guess the chicks are not too many days away from fledging, so if you're interested in trying to get a look, the sooner the better.?



We also located two Red-breasted Sapsucker nests, one in a snag near the second bridge to the left on the trail as you enter from the main parking lot, and another one in a snag adjacent to Highway 203 fairly near the main parking area.?



Additionally, we witnessed interesting behavior of one of the two AMERICAN DIPPERs that we saw at the bridge over Tokul Creek near the fish hatchery.? One bird dove under water and came up with an aquatic insect that was (or was similar to) what fly fishermen call a "cased caddis".? Basically the larva of an aquatic insect in some species protects itself from predators by surrounding itself with a case of small twigs or tiny pebbles that are held together by a glue-like secretion from the larva.? To get the larva, you have to remove the casing.? The Dipper first attempted to do this by holding the cased caddis (I'll assume that's what it is for here) down on a rock with its foot while hammering away at the casing similar to a Nuthatch on a nut.? That apparently didn't work because the bird grabbed its prize in its bill, flew to another rock along the shoreline of the creek and began whapping the cased caddis against rocks trying to penetrate the protective casing.? Its movements were very similar to what a Belted Kingfisher does to dispatch a fish that it has caught before swallowing it - the Kingfisher will fly to a limb typically and knock the fish in its bill multiple times before attempting to eat it.? The Dipper was unsuccessful in getting to the larve during the time we watched.





John Tubbs

Snoqualmie, WA

johntubbs at comcast.net

www.tubbsphoto.com