[CT Birds] Branford Yard

[Tammy Eustis]

Donna - I looked up the red-shouldereds in Donald Heintzelman's Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America. There aren't many specifics on mating rituals, but some interesting facts: they're monogamous; the hawks are already paired when they arrive at their nest site; male performs a "sky dance" over their nest site before mating with the female (we've seen this over our yard, and it's very impressive - lots of dramatic "stooping"); and the pair is generally very vocal during this part of the nesting season. Also: red-shouldereds will reuse previous nest sites; nests are constructed new or refurbished prior to and all during courtship; and both male and female take part in building the nest.
Those are the best details I could find, regarding the mating/courtship rituals. The sky dance is really something to see.
- Tammy Eustis, Chester

-----Original Message-----
From: Sunshine [mailto:sunny19682 at comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 06:56 PM
To: ctbirds at lists.ctbirding.org
Subject: [CT Birds] Branford Yard

>From Donna Lorello 4/1/08 - Branford yard - 2 Red-shouldered hawks - one feeding on something - both vocalizing. Does anyone have any information on mating rituals for these raptors? I tried looking some info up and didn't really come up with anything - I'd be curious if these two are setting up housekeeping. _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org