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Red-shouldered hawk builds nest on fire escape
Photo
A hawk that made its nest in the Hartzell Rd. School hunkers down in the nest built on the fire escape for the auditorium at Washington Elementary in Niles.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is divided into five subspecies. The four eastern forms contact one another, but the West Coast form is separated from the eastern forms by 1,000 miles. Here are some other facts about the bird:
Length: 16.9 to 24 inches.
Wingspan: 37 to 43.7 inches.
Weight: 17.1 to 27.3 ounces.
Habitat: Forests, bottomland hardwoods, riparian areas and flooded swamps.
Clutch size: Two to five eggs.
Nest description: A large bowl of sticks, dried leaves, strips of bark, Spanish moss, lichens and live conifer twigs. Lined with fine bark, mosses, lichens and conifer twigs. The nest is usually placed in the main crotch of tree, often near water.
Food: Small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and crayfish.
The northern form of the bird is the largest. The form in very southern Florida is the palest, having a gray head and very faint barring on the chest.
By the time they are 5 days old, nestling red-shouldered hawks can shoot their feces over the edge of their nest. Bird droppings on the ground is a sign of an active nest.
Source: www.allaboutbirds.o…
By Jordan Cohen
Shades of Alfred Hitchcock — the bird attacked a custodian.
A huge Red-shouldered hawk has nested on a fire escape at Washington Elementary School in Niles on Hartzell Avenue and defended its turf by attacking a custodian who didn’t know the nest was there.
In a scene reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic “The Birds,” the hawk swooped down on the custodian April 10 as she was depositing trash in a receptacle, said schools Superintendent Rocco Adduci.
“The hawk attacked her with its talons and drew blood from her head, but she wasn’t seriously hurt,” Adduci said.
Adduci said he was told to forget about removing the nest until after mother and babies leave, however.
“Wildlife management told us they’re protected,” Adduci said. “Their words were ‘You are not permitted to own as much as a feather of this bird.’”
The superintendent said the trash receptacles were moved away from the fire escape, and the area has been cordoned off with police tape.
The bird apparently began building the nest a month ago, and Adduci said he contacted wildlife management at that time. “They said red-shouldered hawks tend to build two nests: one for show and the other in seclusion,” Adduci said, “So we had to see which one this was.”
The nest on the fire escape apparently is the real thing.
There has not been any positive determination that eggs have hatched, although several school staff members reported seeing some additional movement inside the nest while the hawk was away.
The nest is on the second floor of the fire escape, making it difficult to determine if the chicks have been born. The hawk, meanwhile, continues to fly in and out of the nest, and curious onlookers have been warned to keep their distance.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site, this is the peak breeding season for red-shouldered hawks. Incubation lasts 33 days, and the bird usually lays three or four eggs.
The ODNR says it usually takes 39 to 45 days before the young leave the nest, meaning that Washington Elementary’s family of hawks could stay put well into June.
And mama hawk may not be alone.
“Red-shouldered hawks are monogamous, [and] both parents care for the young, with the male providing most of the food,” according to the Web site.
The school is located adjacent to woods of the type that are known to be habitats for red-shouldered hawks; however, wildlife personnel say the birds usually prefer to nest “high in a forest tree” and not on the fire escape of an 85-year-old school building.