An Evening Encounter at Lion’s Pond

Red-tailed Hawk 3-16-11 5:57 PM EDT

After a full day of birding I drive up the Halls Hill road in Colchester to see what birds might be hanging around at this small pond. I am intimately acquainted with this pond and I have fond memories of ice skating here as a child. Now as an adult I often visit to view the sporadic wild life. The pond has been mostly frozen and silent all winter but I have hope that the ice has melted and maybe there will be something here tonight.

I pull into the parking lot and point my car towards the water. On a nearby rock a lone Canada Goose stands like a statue in the fading light. The goose and I are both silent and we listen and wait for what will happen next. Across the pond I spot a Red-tailed Hawk sitting alone on a branch in a tree. I scan the swamp and the trees beyond for herons, but see none.  A robin flies up fluttering from the ground and perches on a small limb. In the background red-winged blackbirds trill and call. Then, I hear the raucous calls of crows coming from across the street.

Turning my head I see them coming like black shadows through the woods. A larger birds flies annoyed, but determined in front of them as they give chase. It swoops across the road on powerfull wings and towards the Red-tailed Hawk in the tree. I now see it is another Red-tailed Hawk and then I am witness to one of the Rites of Spring.

(Warning, the following photos show hawks engaged in mating behavior which might not be suitable for small children or sensitive readers.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red-tailed Hawk Pair 3-16-11 5:57 PM EDT

It was all over in less than 60 seconds. The crows seemed satisfied once the hawk was out of “their” woods I suppose, for they flew off and quit the chase before the male hawk mounted the female on the branch. The male hawk flew off and left the female shortly after I took that last picture!  A lot of bird watching is nature watching, and a lot of nature watching is about being in the right place at the right time. I feel encouraged to know there will hopefully be a new generation of Red-tailed Hawks being raised somewhere around Lion’s Pond in Colchester, CT this summer. I hope this mating was successful and myself and others will always be able to observe this magnificent hawk in the skies. There were not a lot of birds at Lion’s Pond tonight, I only counted 6 species, but this Evening Encounter made up for that!