Hawks nest outside Maag

Two hawks have been seen around campus for two years.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Budding ornithologists can get a close-up look at how hawks care for their young by visiting the Maag Library at Youngstown State University.
They won't have to open a book or view a video -- they can see it live right outside a sixth-floor window.
The pair of red-shouldered hawks has a single fuzzy yellow nestling in the crook of a white oak tree barely 20 feet from the window, and anyone can stop by when the library is open to take a look.
It's tough to spot from the ground. The nest is 60 feet in the air.
Paul Kabulnicky, library executive director, said campus personnel have been seeing the hawks around for about two years, but this is believed to be their first attempt at breeding.
Early this spring, library staff noticed nest-building in the tree and then began seeing one of the hawks spending a lot of time sitting in the nest.
People were taking a lot of pictures, and it appeared that there might have been three eggs in the nest, although only one hatched, Kabulnicky said.
Flock to the library
News of the hawks and their nestling spread, and soon people, both students and the general public, especially bird-watchers, began coming into the library to see the family.
Randy Jones of Boardman, retired Boardman Park naturalist, was attending a class at YSU about five weeks ago when he heard the hawks' distinctive cries and decided to investigate.
The noises the couple were making indicated a courting and mating period, he said.
Jones said he went up to the sixth floor of the library and looked out one of the large windows to spot the nest-building activity.
He's been visiting regularly to check on the raptor family's progress, occasionally with a friend or two in tow.
Woodland creature
Red-shouldered hawks aren't a particularly urban bird but tend to be more of a woodland creature, he said.
This pair's decision to nest in a tree right outside the library window provides a unique opportunity to observe them, he said.
Kabulnicky said a large group of first-and second-graders will be on campus this week for a science day trip to Ward Beecher Planetarium.
Their visit will include a tour of the library and a chance to see the hawks, he said.
YSU is on a break between the end of spring semester and the start of summer classes, so library hours are restricted to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
For those who can't make it to the library but are interested in the hawks, the library's Web site has regularly updated photos of the family's progress at www.ysu.edu/maag.
gwin@vindy.com