One of the parents enjoying a puddle bath
As you may recall, in April I
reported that the Cooper’s Hawks were nesting again this year in the
Saint-Laurent Cemetery. See post here.
Since then, however, a number
of things happened that caused me to fear for the safety of the baby
hawks. In early June I noticed red ribbons
on each of two trees flanking the “hawk tree”.
This meant that those trees were slated for felling. This became an
urgent issue because the trees could be cut down at any time and there were
nestlings at this point. These adjacent
trees were so close that their branches over-lapped with those of the hawk’s
tree, and therefore the felling of them (with the big trucks, commotion and loud
noises) could make the parents abandon the nest.
I immediately wrote a letter to
the cemetery administration explaining the location of the nest and my
concerns. I received no reply for several
days so I sent a follow up letter with photos of the occupied nest and asked a
good friend, Georges Dupras, to write as well.
Georges went one step further and copied the mayor of Saint-Laurent,
Alan DeSousa. With neither my letters
nor Georges’ getting a reply from the cemetery, the mayor assigned the issue to
a city planning advisor, Jacinthe Daprato, for action.
In the meantime, I discovered
that there were five nestlings! This
information and more details were passed on to Ms Daprato and I was very
pleased to learn on July 5th that the cemetery had been instructed by the city to
leave all trees standing until mid-August in order to protect these birds.
Her reply to me (translated
from the French) stated in part: “After discussions with the Ministry of
Forests, Wildlife and Parks, and under the law on the conservation and development
of wildlife, the nest must be protected until the young are able to fly and
leave the nest.”
I am happy to report that all
five young hawks are now adult size and flying well. They still rely on their parents for food
however, and come back to the nest for feeding.
I hope you will enjoy these
photos (click to enlarge) and will be as pleased as I am for the happy ending to this saga thanks
to all those involved.
A nestling on June 19th
A parent and young hawk on June 24th
One of the young hawks on June 27th
The youngsters are now "branching"
(going onto branches and exercising their wings)
July 3rd
Three of the fledglings on July 14th
A portrait of a young hawk
July 14th
More stretching of wings!
July 14th
Sitting majestically!
July 16th
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