OS friends,

In honor of Easter, Passover and Spring, I thought you might enjoy watching eggs hatch. 

Check out the live webcam of red-tailed hawks nesting on a ledge overlooking the busy traffic in front of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  I've included the link so you can go to the site and watch the hawks and their eggs live.  The eggs are expected to hatch this week.

 The information and photos below are from the Franklin Institute site.

About the Nest

In January, the hawks began to construct the outer shell of a nest by positioning sticks on the ledge. Before they were able to complete their project, however, strong winds knocked the structure from the ledge. After consulting with experts at the nearby Academy of Natural Sciences and the Pennsylvania Game Commission to learn that the hawks would not abandon the nest if humans intervened, The Franklin Institute's staff carpenter added a wooden extension to the ledge and replaced the nest. The Institute also consulted with the Pennsylvania State Game Commission to make sure the intervention was in line with state laws. The hawks seemed to like the added security of their deluxe new perch and returned to complete their project. The nest is now quite large and dense, padded with found materials including some small pine branches.

About the Hawks

The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is the most common hawk in North America. It is a large bird with a broad, red tail. The female is usually larger than the male. It appears that a male and a female are co-constructing the nest at The Franklin Institute. Red-tailed Hawks are monogamous, meaning that a hawk will choose one mate and stay with that mate for life.

Philadelphia provides a suitable year-round habitat for Red-tailed Hawks. They can be found in open areas with elevated perches where they sit and watch for their prey. They are meat-eaters and feed on small to medium-sized mammals and birds. In an urban area such as Philadelphia, that would certainly include rodents, although these particular hawks are most commonly observed to be feeding on pigeons.

The Red-tailed Hawk builds its nest in a tall tree or other elevated perch. The nest is a circular assembly of sticks and twigs, lined with softer pieces. It appears that The Franklin's hawks have used newspaper scraps and feathers to soften their nest. Tree bark and leaves are also known to be used in nesting.

Red-tailed Hawks will lay a clutch of two to four eggs in March or April, depending on climate. (A clutch is the collection of eggs, kind of like a "litter" in other species.) For Philadelphia's latitude, the eggs are likely to be laid in mid-March. In fact, the first egg arrived on Monday, March 9. The second egg arrived on Thursday, March 12. The third arrived on Sunday, March 15.

The female lays the eggs one at a time, approximately every other day. The number of eggs is related to the availability of food in the area, as a well-fed female is likely to lay more eggs.

What's Next?

Incubation of the clutch lasts for 28-35 days, which means we may begin to see signs of hatching during the week of April 6. The female is most responsible for incubation, but the male will substitute when the female needs to exercise or hunt. About 43-45 days after hatching, the babies (known as nestlings) will begin to leave the nest to learn to fly and hunt. At 10 weeks, they will leave the nest for good.

 Here's the link:

 http://www2.fi.edu/hawknest.php