Nesting season 2015 approaches for downtown Holyoke’s Red-tailed Hawks

Downtown Holyoke’s resident Red-tailed Hawks have been spending a lot of time together over the past few days, and have been seen bringing nesting material to the fire escape they called home last year.

The 2014 nest, on a building at the corner of Dwight and High streets, saw three chicks hatch. At least one didn’t survive the fledging period; another was reported as “injured” and taken in by Tom Ricardi. I’m half hoping they’ll make a last-minute decision to relocate to one of their previous nesting sites, which offered a slightly safer environment for young hawks just learning to fly.

This will be the pair’s third full nesting season downtown. The female has been here for a number of years; the male joined her during the 2012 nesting season, after a previous mate was killed in a collision with a car.

Below, some photos of them from the weekend.

  2 comments for “Nesting season 2015 approaches for downtown Holyoke’s Red-tailed Hawks

  1. March 9, 2015 at 7:38 pm

    Great story Greg!

  2. Kim Cervonayco
    March 9, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    Look forward to your Birds Downtown posts.
    Great pics of the Red-Tailed pair.

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