On Wednesday morning my first birds of the day as I drove a taxi from Ithaca up NYS-13 toward the airport was a pair of RED-TAILED HAWKS on the large metal high-voltage power line pylon just west of the highway and south of the bend in the road. I often see a single Red-tailed Hawk perched there, and was surprised and pleased to see a pair.
Today from NYS-13 as I drove south past Renwick Sanctuary I saw a pair of RED-TAILED HAWKS perched together high in a large tree next to the railroad tracks at the edge of the forest. Their size differences indicated a male and female. Ah, spring!
I wonder if these two sites are far enough apart to indicate different pairs/territories. For that matter I wonder if they are different from the pair which nested on the face of Fall Creek gorge just upstream of the Stewart Avenue bridge last year, and presumably one of which I often see atop the Ithaca Gun smokestack where I assume it can keep an eye on the nest site. I wonder how far these birds roam when they are nesting. I get the impression that the habits of the pair on camera last year near Bradfield are pretty well known.
--Dave Nutter
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