The Nanini Nest Blog

A new year

2009-01-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

All lunch on Monday, I sat and watched the hawks. So did lots of others in the parking lot because they were SO loud!

The Red-tailed Hawk reaches sexual maturity at two years of age. It is monogamous, mating with the same individual for many years. In general, the Red-tailed Hawk will only take a new mate when its original mate dies. The same nesting territory may be defended by the pair for years. During courtship, the male and female fly in wide circles while uttering shrill cries. The male performs aerial displays, diving steeply, and then climbing again. After repeating this display several times, he sometimes grasps her talons briefly with his own.

-Kristi

They're back!

2009-01-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not like they ever left, but today walking back from lunch one of the hawks seemed to be nest-building again. I noticed the one platform which previously had the remnants of a nest was clear, the other is where the hawk applied some new nesting material. It was a gray day but I'll take more pictures next week. Excitement again!

-Lisa

Been Awhile

2009-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for awhile, since we haven't seen much of the hawks. They come and go. This morning, with the help of our (new) branch camera, I took a photo of the hawks perched atop the tower. Better clarity on this camera. I'll keep an eye out for the owl, too, which was spotted a month ago.

-Lisa

Opus IV

2008-07-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'VE Been out walking between raindrops looking
for Josue.
La Beaka I spy high upon her tower in her fine
feathered raiment amidst a monsoon shower.

Little nut brown squirrel where did you go?
Did you find a treasure in the knee deep snow?

-Melanie

Ode to Josue and La Beaka Opus lll

2008-07-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Oh Josue and La Beaka,
I've so missed your smiling beakas.
Where have you been?
Are you hunting for prey or praying for a hunt?
Are you riding hot thermals in the blue desert sky or
listening for that plump morning dove's cry?

Love and hawkish kisses,

-Melanie

Good News!

2008-05-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, Kay said she heard baby hawks in the nest. Last week, Julie was coming back from lunch and saw one of the adults flying in the nest and heard the baby hawks, too. They were still making lots of noise when I went out there to take a picture, with one of the adults on the other platform (you can see the adult from below in the picture). Exciting!

-Lisa Laskaris

A good start to the week

2008-05-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Walking into work Monday morning, I watched one of the hawks take flight from the tower. It struggled against the wind, caught a thermal and gained some height, banked clockwise, struggled again, then caught another thermal and disappeared from sight.

-Monica B

Between posts

2008-04-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile. About a week ago, Eileen, one of our library pages, observed one of the hawks bringing more nesting material to the nest. This was interesting because neither hawk had been carrying material or arranging the nest in weeks. Last week I saw the hawks less and less, at times sitting high on the tower in the mornings.

I am hoping that I am mistaken, but I fear the hawks may have abandoned the nest. If it is true, I'm also not sure what would cause this behavior. We'll all keep watching.

-Lisa Laskaris

Wind and quiet

2008-04-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

I keep listening for baby bird sounds, but haven't heard any yet. Every day I can see some kind of movement up in the nest; whether the movement is birds or wind, I can't say.

This afternoon I went outside just before we opened the branch. I looked up and saw one of the hawks, first perched on the edge of the platform, then majestically take off toward the desert. Unfortunately my camera does not advance from one picture to the next quickly, and I missed that perfect hawk-in-flight shot, again. Hawk sitting on the platform will have to do.

The camera I use for these pictures is a low quality digital pencam I bought online: Aiptek MegaCam. I wanted this camera to be small, light, simple, inexpensive. It is all those things and - also not surprisingly - limited. The pencam has 2 focus settings (near, far) and an 'on' switch in addition to the shutter. I manipulate the pictures with the software that came with the camera. Though the quality of the camera and shots is not very good, the experience of trying to take a good picture within the limitations of the equipment, technology and my ability has been fun. I have taken some pictures with my (much) better film camera, and will be posting those in the future.

-Lisa Laskaris

Kreee-ar!

2008-04-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today we went outside in the afternoon and saw both hawks around the nest. One flew back and forth between the tower and a light pole in the parking lot, screaming as it flew. More about the noises of red-tailed hawks:

The cry of the red-tailed hawk is a two or three second hoarse, rasping scream, described as kree-eee-ar, which begins at a high pitch and slurs downward. The cry is often described as sounding similar to a steam whistle. It frequently vocalizes while hunting or soaring, but vocalizes loudest in annoyance or anger, in response to a predator or a rival hawk.

-Lisa Laskaris

Fun facts

2008-03-28T10:23:00.001-07:00

There are lots of great websites with interesting facts about hawks. This is a fun fact from the San Diego Zoo:

Hawk eggshells are tinted green on the inside!

We'll be sure to look around on the ground in case any get kicked away from the nest after hatching.

-Lisa Laskaris

More poetry goodness

2008-03-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

Ode to Our Ferruginous Friends (Opus II)

Oh, Josué and La Beaka
while filling your nest
with soft feathers and sticks.

Are you dreaming of fuzzy
hungry hawk chicks?

-Melanie Horstman

New Angles

2008-03-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

From the back of our building, which faces west, you can almost see into the nest at certain angles. This is a good spot to look at the nest in the afternoon, because the sun is behind us during that time and there is the shade of a nice big palo verde tree to stand under.

This afternoon I sat outside for awhile and saw one of the hawks fussing around in the nest. The hawk's head would go up and down (feeding? arranging?). It's rare I see the both of them together in the last week.

-Lisa Laskaris

And now, a poem

2008-03-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

One of our co-workers has named our nesting pair: Josué and La Beaka. And here is her poem:

Ode to Our Ferruginous Friends

Oh Josué and La Beaka
I saw you fly and I was freaka.
You fly so high do you tweaka
your tail feather or your beaka?

-Melanie Horstman

Gray skies

2008-03-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

At 1:30 this afternoon the sky was a mix of wind gusts, cool air, dark clouds, and blue sky off in the distance. I looked up to see if the birds were sitting on the tower, but instead saw both of them riding the thermals - circling high together over the communications tower - enjoying the weather.

-Kristi Bradford

Sticks and more sticks

2008-03-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

This morning on the way into work (the hawks seem to be consistently active in the early morning) we saw one of the hawks bringing in more nesting material. For several minutes, he (she?) would scan the ground, take off, and bring a huge stick back and fiddle with the nest.

-Lisa Laskaris

Red-tailed Hawk

2008-03-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Our library research and popular consensus (our neighbors – staff at the northwest MVD office - also agree) says our raptors are most likely Red-tailed Hawks. What an amazing thing for Nanini staff, and all the people who use the library, to see these gorgeous (and large) raptors nesting right here!

Here’s what good old Wikipedia has to say about them:

The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a medium sized bird of prey. It breeds almost throughout North America from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far as south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America.

A male Red-tailed Hawk may weigh from 1.5 to 2.9 pounds and measure 18 to 22 inches, while a female can weigh between 2 and 4.4 pounds and measure 20 to 26 inches in length. As is the case with many raptors the Red-tailed Hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are 25% larger than males. The wingspan is from 43 to 57 inches.

Though the markings and hue vary, the basic appearance of the Red-tailed Hawk is consistent. The underbelly is lighter than the back and the dark brown band across the belly, formed by vertical streaks in feather patterning, is present in most color variations. The red tail, which gives the species its name, is uniformly brick-red above and pink below. The bill is short and dark in the hooked shape characteristic of raptors. The cere (from the Latin cera - the fleshy, often waxy structure at the base of the beak), the legs, and the feet of the Red-tailed Hawk are all yellow.

-Kristi Bradford
Branch Manager

2008-03-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

What is the Nanini Nest blog?

Nanini is a branch library of the Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Arizona.

One day on our way into work, several of us noticed a pair of raptors perched high up in a communication tower that sits next to our building, and they appeared to be building a nest. This blog will document their behavior and nesting habits.

The nest appears in the picture, atop a platform on the tower. There are 3 separate platforms, and the nest material is visible from below on the right platform.

What kind of raptors are they? What are we calling them? What is their nesting behavior? What are they doing today? Stay tuned and find out…

-Lisa Laskaris
Adult Services Librarian