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Re: Cooper's Hawk Nest in Construction Site at NCSU



Hi all. Since 1996 we have been conducting a Wake County Butterfly Count in
late July or early August, with our starting place being the NCSU Arboretum
in west Raleigh. Not far from the Sullivan Drive site with the Cooper's hawk
nest. And nearly every year we have seen a Cooper's Hawk fly over the
arboretum, often with starlings or crows swarming about, and morning doves
flying in panic. Wouldn't surprise me if this is the source of the
Arboretum's hawks. John Connors

"Lena B. Gallatino" wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> Yesterday I received the following email from Will Rowland - there has
> been more word on the status of the nest today so those emails also
> follow.  The nest will be preserved until the young have fledged.
>
> Construction around my building on campus has exposed an active Cooper's
> Hawk's nest.  The foreman stopped when the nest was discovered about 40
> ft up a pine.  (There was a thick stand of pine just outside the
> building and Cooper's have used it every year I've worked here.)   I
> don't know what the project managers are planning to do but I asked them
> to leave the nest tree and a few around it standing.  I estimated the 3
> chicks have about 3 weeks before they can fly.  I gave them Wildlife
> Welfare Inc.'s and the Carolina Raptor Center's number if they needed
> assistance. For anyone who's interested, there's a very good view of the
> nest and chicks, especially with a scope, and the female is often in
> full view nearby.
>
> The building is the Environmental Health and Safety Center located
> between Sullivan drive and Western Blvd, on west NC State campus.  Take
> Gorman to Sullivan and we're behind Admin. Services Bldg.  The tree is
> inside the construction fence just east of the EH&S bldg.
> respectfully submitted by,
> Will Rowland
>
> Wednesday AM
> I just spoke with the project manager who was very anxious to talk with
> me about the birds. He and his supervisor, the director of Construction
> Management, Carol Woodyard, are very supportive of the hawks and
> indicated they spoke with US Fish and Wildlife who told them not to
> disturb the nest tree until after the birds fledge.  I asked them also
> to keep the heavy equipment activity as far as possible from the base of
> the tree, as this would only add stress to the young and parent birds. I
> think the best service we can provide them at this point is to estimate
> the age of the birds and the time to fledging as accurately as possible.
> Since they're adjusting their timeline on this project, an accurate
> estimate would be useful.
>
> Will Rowland
>
> Wednesday PM
> Will and I just spoke regarding the status of the nest.  There are
> actually four nestlings and both parents were seen today - Dad with a
> bird that was passed to Mom who had feeding duty.  She fed the babies by
> pulling off bits of meat and feeding on a first come first served basis.
> Will said all of the activity is very visible from the student parking
> lot EAST of the Administrative Services Building and the EH&S buildings
> on Sullivan Drive.  This parking lot is locally called the West Lot but
> I don't know how the entrance from Sullivan Drive is labeled.
>
> Hope a lot of you Triangle birders will have an opportunity to visit.
>
> Best regards,
> Lena
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Lena Gallitano
> Raleigh, NC
>