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Buzz, Ruby, HIM: Pt 2. The Adults The past several weeks have seemed relatively pedestrian regarding Ruby & HIM. After the drama of Buzz's injury, Ruby's challenges looking frantically for Buzz while trying to feed and fend for her three young kids, and the soap opera of strangers arriving and competing for Ruby and the territory she occupied, the past three weeks seemed tame. Wonderbread and margarine. Plain yogurt. Two issues predominated, apart from Buzz's health). First, HIM began spending a lot of time posted on the nest ledge at 185 Alewife Brook Parkway. A lot of time. He hunted from the nest ledge just like Buzz, with forays into Fresh Pond Mall for rodents and pigeons. But more important, he just spent a lot of time perched there. He seemed to be making a statement. When he wasn't on the nest ledge, he was on the apex of the atrium or even the entire building. Late last week we saw fresh greens placed in the nest. We don't know who put them there, because we also found Ruby perched IN The nest several times. Both birds on the old 185 nest ledge. Several times both IN the nest. With all the tumult of the construction going on on Fawcett Street, this seems like a reasonable move. They are not making a commitment to breed on 185 next year, but they are exercising their rights. HIM is announcing to the world that this nest site is being maintained for future use and all rights are reserved. Some people think (or want to think) that Ruby has told HIM to do this, that she has told him everywhere to go to maintain his territorial claims. They could be right, but I think HIM is just doing what any reasonably intelligent adult male Redtail would do. HIM has no emotional attachment to 185. He is just reviewing his resources and protecting his options. In fact, most recent sightings of him away from the nest have been at Fresh Pond Mall, where he has been hunting rodents, and going towards Danehy. He is apparently also observing nesting grackles and brought more than one to the nest, often with angry parenting striking blows on his back. This is ever more important because of the scope of construction at Fawcett Street. It is now virtually impossible for a Redtail to perch on Social Security or Raytheon, two of Buzz and Ruby's favorite perches, and see the nest grove in Abt, much less the nest itself. Six-story apartment towers now block that view. There is no distant early warning system when a threat approaches the territory or nest. A threat to the nest or the parents themselves could be on them before they have time to respond. Ruby is now spending more time perched on the top of the highest construction at 70 Fawcett, preening while keeping watch over her increasingly rambunctious young. She does perch on 150 Cambridgepark a lot, but in both spots she is hounded by angry Mockingbirds (the same birds at both sites). Life is not easy. Ruby and HIM have to be aware of the magnitude of the changes in their territory, affecting not only safety but food supply as well. Buzz and Ruby built a third substantial nest over the previous two years in a bushy pine in Abt, but the primary access tree, a blue spruce, was blown down last fall, apparently removing it from serious consideration. The new construction is immediately adjacent to that nest, so that access is virtually impossible going forward, so Ruby and HIM seriously need to think about where they will nest next year. Nothing is certain in Redtail relationships, but I expect that Ruby is thinking about her future with HIM. (And vice versa.) I have a few questions about HIM. He has enabled Ruby to relax and stay near the nest and observe/protect the kids. The kids seemed to be very well behaved and reasonably well fed, but we have seen very few food deliveries in the morning or evening compared to previous years. Most of the deliveries must be made between 8 am and 4 pm. Thus I have been especially attentive on weekends, when there is little construction work and reasonable parking. Sunday about 3:00 when I arrived the kids were fighting over food. The largest was tearing off gigantic chunks of meat and wolfing them down. He kept throwing his head back trying to swallow mouthfuls of meat and fur. The largest bird's crop was extended, so it had been eating for some time. Finally, by 3:12 the second largest kid was eating part of the carcass. Only at 3:15 did the youngest get a chance to start picking at the carcass. "Pecking order" is not just a concept. For hawk chicks, it is a rule of life. At 4:01, I had a Redtail streaming over 185, towards Fresh Pond. Disappeared, and then reappeared over the Fawcett construction. Then saw a second Redtail over Archstone on Cambridgepark. Both then slowly soared and glided out of sight to the northeast. The kids were full (except possibly for the tyke) and sleepy. They paid no attention to the retreating adults. 4:45 we had a Redtail appear low, north of Abt with large prey, possibly a pigeon. It was obviously having a tough time carrying the large prey. HIM? It landed on the SW HVAC at Archstone.It was looking north, expectantly. Was HIM waiting for Ruby to come and take the prey to the nest? (Ruby would not have any difficulty delivering a large pigeon or squirrel to the nest.) Through the scope we saw that this was indeed a squirrel, its tail blowing in the wind. The second squirrel in two hours! Perhaps HIM had found the second "clutch" of Gray Squirrels, which should be emerging from the nest about now. The kids are going to be well fed today! Suddenly, I see a second Redtail soaring west of 150 Cambridgepark. This bird is huge. Not HIM. Huge. Not Ruby either, because this bird is beginning to molt secondaries on both wings. Now there is a third Redtal in view. ALERT. ALERT! Three adult Redtails. The molting 747 glided southwest towards Wilson Ave, unperturbed by the other two Redtails. The third Redtail was soaring over the B&M tracks with small prey in its talons. Ruby, going towards the nest with prey. It is a mouse, not a vole. The kids stand up awaiting the pizza delivery. Ooops, this is HIM bringing in the mouse. He drops it off and flies off towards 100 Cambridgepark. Within two minutes the first Redtail delivers a squirrel to the nest. RUBY! That had been her all the time on Archstone. She might have had difficulty carrying the large squirrel (not likely, but possible), but almost certainly she had seen the intruder, the third Redtail, and delayed delivering prey to her nest and chicks until the intruder was out of sight. Ruby started tearing up the squirrel (It was still in its original packaging) and feeding the kids, who watched her carve up the mammal. Then HIM reappeared, soaring high over 100, and then 150, and drifting south over 87 Fawcett, just kiting into the stiff southwest wind. Hanging. Hanging. Watching. I could not see the intruder, but I am sure HIM could. He was making a statement to the intruder...and to Ruby. Ruby has been able to spend a lot of time watching over the kids from afar. Yesterday, HIM delivered a squirrel to the nest in the afternoon. Ruby was watching high atop 150 as he flew in, dropped the prey into the nest, and quickly retreated northeast. (His clear protocol is to drop the food off and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible, pausing only for a few seconds if Ruby is also in the nest.) In the setting sun I could see that he had a full crop, so he had dined before delivery to the kids. The biggest (surprise, surprise) started tearing at the squirrel, wolfing it down again. It was damed hot yesterday, and these kids might not only be hungry but thirsty as well, and they depend on the prey for all their moisture. (Remember, no sweat glands to dissipate heat. They open their beaks and pant, pant, pant.) The largest was winning at "king of the squirrel" when Ruby flew in and observed. Everyone missed it a few minutes later, but the largest no longer had the squirrel. The middle child was now feasting, wolfing it down as though the squirrel might leave at any movement. Then we saw it. Ruby bent over and started picking at the squirrel in the middle child's talons. She was careful not to get in the way of the kid's very aggressive beak, ripping into the squirrel, but suddenly the prey was in the talons of the littlest kid. Mom is sharp. Very sharp. Apart from HIM's spectacular display yesterday ... and the multiple "pairs perched on the nest at 185," we've seen few signs of further bonding between the two adults. But this is the beginning of the most stressful time of the year for the adults, feeding THREE FULL-SIZED young, who are more active than ever and will shortly be flying and more hungry and scattered all over the place. I doubt that HIM has been through this before, almost certainly not with three kids. But one day this past week, ever so briefly, Ruby and HIM perched atop 150 Cambridgepark, side by side, gazing out over their territory and the nest crammed with young Redtails. Perhaps looking at the nest rats and thinking of the challenges ahead. Perhaps looking at the nest rats and thinking of how glad they are that they have each other to get through this biggest challenge for Redtails. NOTE: With the kids on the verge of truly fledging, Susan has contacted both the foreman for the Fawcett construction and Abt officials to advise them of what is happening and to provide resource information and a protocol for professional assistance in case a young bird is grounded or injured. Also, many of the construction workers are very aware of and following the hawks, reporting of food deliveries during the work day, so we are counting on their alertness and concern to make this a successful fledging for all three kids. Best, Paul M. Roberts Medford, MA phawk254@comcast.net |