"The story of a goshawk, a bird of prey that has advanced into the city"
This blog introduces the life of a goshawk, a wild drama that unfolded in front of the caretaker in an urban park Tokyo Japan from July 2017 to December 2018.
More than a year ago, I would like to write the continuation of the article "Urban Goshawks, Breeding Records" 4 about the preparation for breeding of northern goshawks, remembering those days.
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At the end of November, females first appeared frequently in the park.
Females seem to be looking for a nest location for their next breeding for some time.
Mainly, the time to look for is early morning.
Let's check each of the nests that some crows used in the forest in the past.
"Which place is the best?"
In the end, it seems that they decided on the same place that they used for breeding last year.
When choosing a nest location, it seems that instead of building a nest in an empty space from scratch, the nests that crows and others had previously prepared will be used again.
With the foundation in place, the effort to complete the nest is overwhelmingly low and economical.
I don't know where the goshawks are sleeping, but since they can be seen early in the morning, it seems that they started using this park for roosting around this time.
That is to say, this park is probably the first candidate for breeding.
Males haven't been seen for some time since females appeared in the park, but they probably recognized each other not far away.
The female occasionally screamed far from the top of the tree, so it seems that she was communicating with a male who was out of sight.
Males and females are getting closer to each other
From around this time, males began to be seen, and male and female squealing became more frequent nearby.
Perhaps the pairing is also confirmed. It seems that this goshawk pair and the geography of the park are already known and familiar to people, so it is probably the same pair that bred last year.
While flying in the sky, the female seems to be trying to tell something to the male who came.
Does she say, "I'm going to decide on the same nest as last year, but I'd like a better nest than last year!"
The time is the end of November, and it's early to start building a nest, but it would be safer for each other to decide what to decide early.
I really like this nest
The photo above is a nest that was not selected, but it seems that the female was quite interested.
However, "It's a little impossible considering the big chicks, 2 or 3 chicks, surviving the wind and rain, preparing for repulsion from crows, hoarding place, etc.!"
But he seemed to be interested, and sometimes he went to see what was going on.
"This is my nest!" Crow
Crows sometimes came to visit the nest in the absence of goshawks. Do you remember the past or choose a nesting place next year?
Crows seem to think, "If a goshawk is nearby, it will be impossible to breed here next year."
Autumn leaves and goshawk
As the days became shorter and the cold became colder day by day, females worked on food in preparation for breeding and accumulated fat in their bodies day by day.
This year, it became cold rapidly, and I felt that the leaves had fallen before they turned red.
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to be continued
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