Back to search

Feathered friends in high places

For a mother who recently watched an offspring hatch, the red-shouldered hawk that has taken up residence at the Tanimura & Antle library seems to be in good shape.

She and her partner are the proud parents of one chick, and the mother has gotten a bit protective.

"She's swooped at someone working up there," said Mardi Chalmers, a librarian who has an interest in birds. "Hawks are aggressive in protecting their territory and their young."

The birds have built a nest on the east side of the library, at the third-floor level in an area not accessible to the public.

For a couple of years, "there was a nest in the pine tree outside the old library building," Chalmers said. "We think they moved along with us. They're very territorial. As the crow - make that hawk - flies, this library isn't far from the old one."

CSU Monterey Bay construction inspector Jim Conway spotted the nest around April 20. Then, lead construction manager Ron Deller noticed debris falling from the building on a windy day.

"I was worried that we were going to have a maintenance problem every time it was windy. I went up to third floor to investigate, and saw the nest," Deller said.

Red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) are found in eastern North America and along the coast of California. Adults have a brownish head and reddish chest; their tail is marked with narrow white bars. The red "shoulder" is visible when the bird is perched.

They normally live in forested areas. The breeding pair produces three or four eggs, but typically only one "fledge" survives. The incubation period is about a month.

The parents take turns minding the chick and finding tasty treats (such as rodents, bloodied bird pieces or small snakes) to drop into the baby's waiting beak. In just a few weeks, the white fuzz-ball will be as big as the parents.

The campus will have to settle for a view of the nest. The little one can't be seen from the ground, and mom and dad are mostly out of sight, either hunting or feeding the chick.

When the chick learns to fly, the parents will drive it off. But the chick will probably stay in the area.

Have the hawks been given names?

On that point, Chalmers is emphatic.

"We don't have names for them; they're not mascots," she said. "They're wild. We're admiring them from afar. We're pleased the hawks chose the library to build their nest."