In spite of all my excitement at having Red-shouldered Hawks hanging out here this summer and fall, I never wrote a blog about it... and now they are gone. I'm hoping they come back and I can add to this story.
The first RSHA seen here was a first year bird back in 2011. It was here briefly one day and then gone. I took a very poor long distance photo.
RSHAs began appearing in the Grand Ronde area near our farm several years ago, off and on.
But not until 2017 did they make an appearance here. I wrote this on Sept. 17 to Jeff Fleischer, the wintering raptor project coordinator:
"I have heard one screaming off and on for several weeks but never could see it until yesterday, when it had a screaming match with another Red-shoulder, all out of my sight in the woods. Finally it fly into the top of a tree very briefly then flew at something. Eventually the something turned into two Red-shoulders being chased by the evidently resident Red-shoulder. The resident landed inside the top of our big poplar. The other two flew right over my head toward Agency Creek. (I was in our South, unpastured field trying to see what was going on). After awhile, the alleged resident came out of the foliage and also flew to Agency but went downstream where the pair had gone upstream. Naturally I was clicking photos like crazy but all are blurry and not very recognizable.
Today, however, was a different story! I was brushing out one of our trails by Agency when a Red-shoulder started screaming from somewhere. I walked out into the field (same field the action had taken place near the day before) and an adult Red-shoulder was sitting near the top of a tree where a Red-tail often sits by our swamp, far SE border of our property. I took photos, then walked slowly through the field, stopping to take photos periodically. When I had gone not very far, a hawk took off from a tree behind me. It must have been right over me when I was at the edge of the woods! It flew into the swamp and disappeared. Meanwhile the screaming hawk stayed on its tree and kept screaming. I did get a photo I can use in my FFF Bird List blog, not the best but better than any I've had before. "
Then they disappeared for awhile, with a juvenile appearing on Nov. 11 and hanging around for some days after that. That's when I got this photo...
Now I'm waiting and hoping one or more return in 2018.
