Red Shouldered Hawk-Tragedy in Cooper's Grove

I noticed on my morning patrol of the Grove that the little ones in the Red Shouldered Hawk nest were very noisy, much more so than usual. And sounding pretty grown up also. It seems like it's been a couple of months since they hatched; I didn't record the exact date I first heard them as tiny birds screaming for food. I've been wondering when I'll start seeing them around the neighborhood as juveniles. 

I had previously been unable to see the exact place where the nest is, so I took the time today to carefully circumambulate around the source of the sound, looking up frequently. I visited some places in the grove I had not yet seen...I'm always amazed at how I can find new places after four years of tending the place. Finally, after several distractions (very cute tiny deer tracks) I spotted the nest. I estimate it's about 120 feet above the ground. I decided to go the base of the tree and look on the ground, figuring I could observe what the ground under a hawk's nest looks like, and perhaps on future wanderings I would see something similar that would tip me off to other nests. 

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I was very saddened to find one of the young ones at the base of the tree. It was directly below the nest. As far as I could tell its neck was broken. There was no sign or smell of decay and the body was supple, but cold. I figure that it left the nest prematurely either earlier this morning, or perhaps in the night. It's not possible to say exactly what happened; but it was a stage of growth where it was almost ready to fly and perhaps there just wasn't room for three birds in the nest anymore.  

The little guy's talons were very well developed; in a week or so when its siblings leave the nest, hopefully successfully, they will be well equipped to hunt. 

I considered keeping the talons but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I've grown attached to these guys, having listened to them since they were fresh out of their eggs, and having watched their parents hunt in the field next to the house. I just feel sorrow that this bird, so fully developed, didn't quite make it...another week would have been enough, I think. 

Of course I took the opportunity to look closely at it... how often do you get to study a red shouldered hawk up close and personal? You can see in the photo (left) that its feathers were not fully out of their sheaths yet, and there are still a lot of downy baby feathers. The wing bone itself looks very exposed through thin, almost translucent skin. There are rufous feathers already coming out on the shoulders.

Its head was wet because it had fallen into the creek below the tree. I pulled its eyelid open and did my best to sketch it, but the photo tells the story better than my sketch.

When I found it by the creek I pulled a braid of sweetgrass from my pack. I lit the sweetgrass and smudged its body, and prayed for it's spirit, that it might fly bright and free. I took the body home to study it a bit further, then returned to the grove and buried it. I've been sad all day.