For the third consecutive year, we have had the good fortune to have Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) nesting in the woods near our house. They have used a different and newly-built nest each year. Each time the nest has been built high in the fork of a large deciduous tree.

Two years ago, the nest was built in a tree right next to our house, and we were able to get clear photographs of the birds even after the leaves had emerged (See Nature Notes 10 and 14, which can be downloaded from the “Nature Notes” page on our menu, for some pictures of the 2012 hawk family). This year, we will not be able to see much when it greens up.