Baby Red Shouldered Hawk

[BearCreek]

I caught him!

UPDATE: Our little "brancher" is growing up! He left his branch shortly after the original post and I've been hearing him calling different times of the day. Today I happened to catch him sitting high on a branch practicing his hunting. The pic is not the best as I did not want to disturb him or get close to him. My phone has zoom, but it's not the best for this kind of picture. He certainly is a lot more handsome than his baby self. Picture on the left is from original post. Picture on right was how he looked today.






This beautiful little one is hanging out on our farm on a branch about 5 ft. off the ground. The wildlife rehabilitator told us he would probably remain there for the next week to ten days. He is a "brancher", not even a fledgling yet. He left the nest but isn't ready to fly. She told us the mom and dad will call for him and encourage him to fly to them for food, but they will bring it to him as long as he remains on the branch. She said he is still very clumsy and isn't great at wrapping those big talons aroud branches yet. He's about 2 feet long. Pretty big for an approx. 5 week old!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[Old Dude]

As bad as you probably want to help, the best thing to do is just watch the progress from a distance. Nature and the parents will take care of him! I bet those talons would rip you up as badly as an adult's would

 

[dts52]

Great pics!

 

[BearCreek]

We are definitely watching from a distance. The rehabilitation expert told us his parents will call to him to encourage him to come to them for food before they will just take it to him. He isn't screaming for them which she told us is good because it means his belly is full. She said it was really common for this to happen.

 

[bill_wabo]

Enjoyed the pics and learned something new today, always makes a good day. Thanks for sharing!

 

[austin]

Great pics and an even better story. Thanks, I too have learned something new today...

 

[BearCreek]

Our little brancher has moved to a higher spot today. We heard a lot of screeching between him and his parents today and saw both of them swooping above our woods. Finally quieted down this afternoon. Keeping our fingers crossed that he tried out his wings today

 

[smokeythecat]

Great pics. One of the funniest things I ever saw were three fledgling red tail hawks on a branch. Mom and dad were trying to entice them into the air, and they looked SO grumpy. but they flew!