Various Bird Videos from Hildacy

I have been compiling some footage that I haven’t had a chance to post and well, here it is.

This video shows a male Red-bellied Woodpecker excavating a nest cavity in a tree. I took this one through my trusty spotting scope way back in February. Woodpeckers tend to be some of the earliest breeders in the area but this was a bit early even for them. The pair ended up abandoning the hole after a solid week of digging.

Hildacy’s resident pair of Red-shouldered Hawks have nested again and successfully fledged three more young birds this year. I have been watching the same pair for the last 3 years and during that time they have nested and produced young in three different pine trees. Unlike many Red-shouldered Hawks, they have not migrated south in the winters. The vast majority of hawks seen in this area are Red-tailed Hawks and it continues to be a treat to have this species present on the preserve.

Here are a few videos from their new nest.  The young birds are now big enough to explore nearby branches although I have not yet seen them fly.

Here one of the young birds can be seen stretching his wings and hoping around the nest:

Even after young raptors have learned to fly it will be some time until they are proficient hunters. During this period the adult birds will continue to bring the youngsters food. In this video one of the adults has just returned to the nest with something in its talons. You can recognize the adult because of the more rusty colored breast feathers (the young are more white with brown spots). Once the adult arrives at the nest the three young converge on the meal and fight each other for nutrition.

Here are a few more pics of the young birds.  You can see the spotted chest feathers I was talking about.  Even though the birds are not yet mature they are likely already the same size as their parents.

Photo: Mike Coll

Photo: Mike Coll