![]() Throughout his career, Budd has shared his love of photography and nature by presenting seminars, workshops, and field trips Nationwide. This entry was posted in Community on Apby Budd Titlow.īS / Biological Science, Florida State University and MS / Wildlife Ecology, Virginia Tech.Ī Professional Wetland Scientist (Emeritus) and Wildlife Biologist, Budd Titlow is also an international/national award-winning nature photographer and a widely-published writer/author currently living in Tallahassee, Florida. It just took them through September-three extra months-to do so. ![]() Even our hot-headed, red-shouldered hawks finally came to this conclusion and gave up their fight. But when the screaming continued into August, we concluded that the fighting had now become a matter of principle for these three birds and that the actual reason for fighting in the first place had long since been lost in the shuffle.Īre you listening out there Republicans and Democrats? When the battle lines become so blurred that common ground for civil discussion no longer exists and clear-cut objectives cannot be found, maybe it’s time to make peace and search for compromise solutions. Since male birds primarily establish territories to keep other males away from their nests and mates, July should have marked the end of the incessant shrieking. The peak nesting period for red-shouldered hawks is April through mid-June. Since nobody wanted to back down, they just kept slugging it out and assaulting our eardrums day in and day out. So the three of them kept slinging insults and challenges back and forth at each other. As a result, they could never agree on who was dominant. So what was going on? From what I could tell, all three male birds were young and close to the same size, which gave them equal stature in the world of hawk-dom. Our house backed up to the edge of a golf course fairway with other houses close by on each side, hardly ideal hawk habitat-or at least so it seemed. But this was certainly not the case with our battling North Carolina trio. ![]() Typically red-shouldered hawks are known to prefer nesting and living in wooded habitats, such as bottomland hardwood forests, flooded deciduous swamps, and upland mixed deciduous-conifer stands. They may even pluck small fish and crayfish out of woodland streams. They also readily take larger mammals-rabbits and squirrels-as well as frogs, snakes, toads, and salamanders. Red-shouldereds like to hunt by sitting on perches located below the forest canopy, where they can swiftly swoop down to snatch up small prey-primarily mice, voles, and chipmunks. They live throughout the eastern US with expanding populations along the Pacific coast. The red-shouldered hawk is slightly smaller than its red-tailed hawk cousin, with a longer tail and wings. But such was not the case with our three they went at it all day long. The bird guides say that red-shouldered flight displays usually occur in late morning and early afternoon. Each series of maneuvers was always accompanied by the shrieking kee-rah-kee-rah-kee-rah calls of each bird. As if responding to cues from some off-stage director, each bird would alternately soar toward the clouds then make a steep dive, followed by a wide spiral and another upward climb. (Photo copyright FloridaStock/.)įor seven months one spring and summer, three male red-shouldered hawks decided to use our backyard in central North Carolina as the overlapping center point of their territories and they absolutely did not shut up from March until September.īright and early each morning, these medium-sized birds of prey would begin their “sky-dancing” routines. Soaring high and shrieking incessantly, a red-shouldered hawk flies across a suburban backyard.
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