Bryan Red-tails 2016

A progression of Red-tailed hawk pictures I took at Bryan Park beginning 4/12/2016. It starts with a nest and ends with a baby hawk (eyas). Click on the pictures for a closer view – they get much larger. The movies are only around ten seconds long.

As of June 4, 2016 there are 23 still photographs and nine short videos chronicling the development.  The first picture of the baby (eyas) appears on May 3; it’s only a glimpse. You can watch the baby mature and grow as time passes. It’s been nearly two months since we first sighted and adult Red-tail there, then the pair. I’m fascinated every time I visit. I hope you enjoy this. 

=========== 

This is the first Red-tailed hawk I saw in Bryan Park in 2016. 4/12/2016, 4:17 PM: 

My first look at the hawk’s nest, same date, 3:41 PM: 

Same nest, 4/14/2016, 4:42 PM: 

An adult on the nest, 4/18/2016, 5:17 PM: 

4/19/2016, 4:18 PM, an adult on the nest again – probably the female:

4/21/2016 4:11 PM Adult on the nest again, this is the first time I have ever seen the “gaze” that I would later see on the face of the young Red-tail (eyas):

4/25/2016, 4:32 PM – adult on nest: 

4/26/2016, 4:29 PM, adult watching:

4/28/2016, 3:39, misty day, indistinct image of adult on the nest: 

On May 2 at 4:25 PM I saw my first every baby Red-tailed hawk! The images I took that day were indistinct, but you can see it in this picture: 

5/2/2016, 4:25, the first wild Red-tail eyas I’ve ever seen!: 

I returned the f0llowing day; no sign of the baby, but an adult being harassed by a bluejay: 

5/3/2016, 11:23 AM:

5/5/2016, 11:07 AM, another “rainy day Red-tail” adult on nest: 

5/7/2016, 11:05 AM, first (and worst) short movie of baby on nest: 

Same day, 10:37 AM, brief movie of a bluejay flying up behind Red-tail and striking it on the shoulder: 

5/9/2016, 3:45 PM, best Red-tail baby picture thus far: 

Same date, 3:44 PM, slightly improved brief movie of baby moving on nest: 

5/10/2016, 3:53 PM, “family picture,” 

Same day and time, baby is more visible, male is looking away: 

5/11/2016, 12:02 PM, baby peering over top of nest: 

Same date, same time, quick video of baby watching over edge of nest: 

5/12/2016, 3:53 PM, baby looking mighty curious and mighty cute, again peeking over the top of the nest: 

Video of the same hawk taken just moments after that photograph: 

We returned again on 5/16/2016, 5:24 PM and weren’t able to get any decent video, but the stills keep getting cuter: 

We couldn’t get back again for seven days. When we returned on 5/23/2016, 4:29 PM, the cute little baby had begun to look distinctly like a small hawk: 

It doesn’t move gracefully – yet – it has an unmistakably teenager-ish stumble. But they learn so fast:

This time we were able to make a quick turnaround, and were back at the nest again on 5/24/2016, 5:09 PM. I took about eight pictures of it that afternoon staring directly at us. It turned its head away at one point, probably hoping its parents are getting food:

I took this video less than one minute later. I don’t know what this head-tilting means, but they do it a lot:

I returned two days later on May 26, 2016 at 4:38 PM and took this picture of the youngster gazing out at something only it could see: 

Here’s the youngster perched in a notch in the loblolly pine. It appears to be gazing at its talons, and its talons appear to have hair in them, perhaps from tearing apart food:

Here’s a video of that bird taken moments later. It’s a little over ten seconds long. If you watch, you can clearly see it eating meat:

6/4/2016, 5:00 PM: The youngster cocking its head as it watches me:

So many bugs around – the little one also scratches a lot. A video I took just after that still photo above: