I don't want to lead anyone else astray, so will make this correction. It has been pointed out that it is too early for fledglings, so my first interpretation of what I observed this morning would seem to be incorrect. It was suggested that some of the hawks, if not all, were migrants. My first thought was just that as I thought it seemed too early for fledglings, but I didn't take the time to research dates before I posted. The way they interacted completely fooled me. With the constant chattering and following each other around and interacting for a prolonged period, they looked like a tightly-knit group. Leaves me wondering what all that interesting behavior was about. Do they form "social" groups as they migrate? I wouldn't think so, just trying to figure this out. Sorry about jumping to conclusions earlier! Katrina Heinzen On Sun, Apr 3, 2011 at 1:58 PM, Katrina Heinzen <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > > I love it when a common species has surprises to show me. Five red-tailed > hawks, a family I assume since they were not antagonistic to each other, put > on an incredible show this morning over northeast Cleveland Heights. Three > young birds (good job, parents, getting 3 out of the nest!!!) and two mature > birds were extremely vocal with each other as they flew low over our > street's towering oaks and practiced many landings, take-offs, soaring up on > thermals (they go so high with so few wing beats, even the young ones!) > swoops, dives, and aerial play. I felt so fortunate to be able to observe > this behavior for at least 20 minutes. I learned a lot! By the end, we > must have had every blue jay and crow from a 3 block radius joining up in > gangs to take a stand against the five hawks. What a ruckus! > > If anyone can answer how densely RTH's can/will live within suburbs, I'd > love to hear what has been observed. For example, as I ponder where the > nest might be I think about the regular places I see red-tailed hawks around > here and wonder whether I'm seeing the same ones in different places or > whether multiple pairs are around. I observe RTHs regularly at Euclid > Creek Reservation, one mile east of here. I also see a huge female at the > Oxford Elementary school grounds, 1/4 mile to the west. I know that's a > small distance for a bird, but with so many oak trees and therefore a > zillion squirrels, I wonder how many hawks can be fed. > > Katrina Heinzen > Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]