TWO RED-SHOULDERED HAWK LOVERS, SHORTLY AFTER DOING THE "SKY DANCE". THE FEMALE IS ON THE LEFT, THE MALE ON THE RIGHT. MARCH 9, 2022 IN THE BIG PECAN TREE IN BACK AT BETTY'S HOUSE ON THE COMAL RIVER.

A Snake Snack and A Sky Dance

Dorothy and I had to be in New Braunfels on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 9, 2022 for a meeting with our attorney.  We were in separate cars, so after our meeting I headed over to Betty’s (Dorothy’s mom) house on the Comal River to do some bike riding and some bird watching.  I began by riding my bike, heading west on Edgewater Terrace.  I got about three quarters of the way to Elizabeth Street (next to the Landa Park Golf Course) when I spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk in a Pecan tree in the front yard of one of the river houses.  I was able to watch and photograph the bird for about ten minutes.  When I first stopped and started watching him, he was preoccupied with eating a small snake.  He would tear off a bite at a time so it took him a few minutes to finish it.  As a matter of fact, the owners of the house came out and walked right under him and he didn’t budge one bit, working on that snake.  Here are some photos of my first bird of the afternoon, a snake eating Red-shouldered Hawk. 

IN THIS PHOTO YOU CAN SEE PART OF THE SNAKE IN THE BIRD'S BEAK, AND THE REST OF IT UNDER HIS RIGHT TALON.
IN THIS PHOTO YOU CAN SEE THE SNAKE BETTER, STILL UNDER THE HAWK'S RIGHT TALON.
ALL FINISHED WITH HIS SNAKE SNACK!

After watching the snake eating hawk for about ten minutes I continued on my merry way.  For the next 50 minutes I rode my bike down every street in Landa Estates, and saw a number of other birds most notably a Crested Caracara. I have seen many of this member of the Falcon family (also known colloquially as a Mexican Eagle), but always in rural areas, never in a town or other urban area.  

THE CRESTED CARACARA I WATCHED NEAR THE CORNER OF HOUSTON AVE. AND DALLAS ST. IN LANDA ESTATES.

To see the checklist that I posted on eBird that contains all the birds I saw on my bike ride that afternoon, look here.  After riding 4.31 miles on my bike, I wanted to sit by the river at Betty’s house and enjoy the beautiful afternoon, and, hopefully, a few more birds might stop by and say hello.  Shortly after I sat down, I began to hear one or more hawks calling, and they were very close by.  What I saw next is best described by this excerpt from All About Birds (accessed through eBird), under the Life History/Behavior section of the Red-shouldered Hawk:

“In populated areas, such as forested suburban developments, they can become very unconcerned and approachable by people, but in wilder areas they flush easily. On their territories, Red-shouldered Hawks are aggressive, sometimes locking talons with intruding hawks and also attacking crows, Great Horned Owls, and even humans. As a mating display, the male enacts a “sky dance” in which he soars while calling, then makes a series of steep dives toward the female, climbing back up in wide spirals after each descent, before finally rapidly diving to perch upon the female’s back.”

As the calling continued, I could see one hawk (the male) circling overhead and then I realized that another hawk (the female) was almost directly overhead perched high up in the huge old Pecan tree in Betty’s riverside yard.  The calling continued for several minutes, and I was busy trying to get the best position I could to photograph the hawk perched in the tree.  As I was photographing the female hawk in the tree, the male suddenly swooped down and “perched” on the female for a very brief time (I would guess about 5 seconds!) before he dismounted and hopped to a nearby limb, where he stayed for several minutes before the two love birds both flew off.  Here are my photos of the “Sky Dance” and subsequent coupling of these birds. 

THE FEMALE WAS ALMOST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD WHEN I FIRST WATCHED AND PHOTOGRAPHED HER.
THE FEMALE WAITED PATIENTLY FOR HER MATE, WHO WAS CIRCLING OVERHEAD AND CALLING LOUDLY.
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, YOU WILL SEE THE MALE MOUNTED ON THE FEMALE.
THE TWO HAWKS WERE CALM AND QUIET AFTER THEY MATED, THEY PERCHED TOGETHER FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE FLYING OFF TOGETHER. NOTE THAT THE MALE, ON THE RIGHT, IS SMALLER THAN THE FEMALE, ON THE LEFT.

I enjoyed this little outing.  And I now have first hand knowledge of the mating habits of the Red-shouldered Hawk, which should help me watch many more “Sky Dances” in the future!