One Brancher and One Flyer! ©

The scuttlebutt is:

one of the fledglings came down from the nest in the Saguaro and found a beautiful, thorny, blooming with yellow flowers, palo verde tree in which to perch.  

Now this young bird is known as a brancher:  it is hiding but still being fed by the parents until it is able to fully fly.  

The second fledgling did not have it as easy, but again this is just scuttlebutt.  

It seems that the second fledgling, using his new skills, flew down from the nest in the Saguaro,  and actually crashed into the side of another Saguaro! What a sight that must have been!  He then picked himself up and scrambled up into a nearby thorny, prickery staghorn cholla, where he did not stay very long at all!  He found himself still on the ground and needed to find safety at some point.  

We can assume that the fledgling climbed up yet another Saguaro close to where the brancher is hiding in the palo verde tree.  

And it is very possible that our fledgling stood at the top of this Saguaro all night.

What happened next was captured the next morning after I discovered the fledgling up in the Saguaro!

Watching through the camera lens I just knew the fledgling was balancing itself, preparing to fly. 

A little scratching and a little more balancing.

And then the fledgling finds the courage to leap up and fly!

What a beautiful sight!

After four to five weeks of visiting the nest every few days for three or four hours at a time, 

it is hard to say, 

"Good Bye"

(Copyright 2015)

Proud Mama Harris Hawk ©

Growing! 

In the first four to five weeks after their birth, the adult female will tear up small pieces of prey for her nestlings.  Once the chicks are older, the prey will be dropped whole into the nest for them to tear into pieces and eat.  

Rabbit ears and Bird feet

The parents stay very active delivering prey to the nestlings 10 to 15 times a day, from before sunrise to after sunset.  Most of the hunting is done by the males while the female is caring for the young.

                              The youngsters have grown flight feathers and have started flap-hopping. 
                                      

At about six weeks they will start fledging.

 Family Portrait

(Copyright 2015)

Nesting, Fledgeing and Branching ©

Early in the morning, Mom is still sitting on the nest to provide warmth for the chicks, while the males are out hunting.  Males?  Yes!  A female Harris Hawk will mate with two males (polyandry), and this is not due to an imbalance in the population of male to female.  It is not certain why this exists--one theory relates to the amount of food available.  Studies show that in areas of large amounts of food, the males are more likely to mate with more than one female (polygamy), as they are able to provide food for both.  In areas of polyandry, it is more likely that food is limited, so the odds for the survival for the young are improved with two or more males providing the food.  

Flight feathers start to grow at around three weeks.  Over the next few weeks these nestlings will begin flap-hopping but won't start fledging until about the sixth week after hatching. For the first few weeks after fledging the chicks are called "branchers", perching inconspicuously in lower branches.  During this time the chicks will still be actively fed by their parents while they are learning to fly and hunt on their own.  These baby hawks may depend on their parents until about 15 weeks old, at which time the parents will stop responding to the begging cries from the young.  The young birds will stay in their parents' territory for 30 to 70 days, before migrating.

There are two of them.

They only have 40 days before they fledge--they are growing fast.

It seems that mom is trying to take a nap.  Where do birds sleep?  The nest is for keeping eggs and chicks in place. When nesting is over the nest is a mess, splattered with droppings of the fledgling, and in some cases, a dead chick, which can attract parasites and predators. The birds just don't need the nest anymore.

Not long before this youngster is going to fledge!

(Copyright 2015)

HAWKEYE ©

Miles and Miles of hiking trails and so much more!

Take a look around and then look up, and oh, my--a Hawk's Nest with movement up there...  

looks like Ms Harris taking care of a baby hawk.  Take another look around and up on several saguaros there are adult hawks watching over the babies and looking for food and probably watching me, too.  These guys have excellent vision, possibly 8 times better than humans.  The Harris hawk is one of only two raptor species that hunt as a group. They are currently listed as theatened or endangered. The Harris hawk can live to be between 15 and 20 years old.    Fun-fact from Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum:  Harris hawks practice a behavior  known as "back-standing".  Several birds will stand on top of each other. This may serve several important purposes.  The view from the Harris hawk on the top of the stack will allow it to see over a greater area and spot prey or predators.  It is also thought that this behavior may help to provide shade when each bird holds open its wings, shading the lower one. 

I will be looking for that picture!

A second look into this nest high off the ground in the saguaro shows that there are two baby hawks who are well protected from predators.  The Harris hawks will also use group members to help protect the nest from predators by giving alarm calls or harassing any animals who threaten their nest.  Predators can include great horned owls, coyotes, common ravens and bobcats.  

(The list did not include a girl with camera).

These young hawks will fledge (leave the nest for good) at about 40 days old.  Some young hawks can remain with their parents for a while after fledging; these family groups have been observed hunting as a team.

 Watch me grow!

(Copyright 2015)